Bending over backwards is behind us –
we’d like to think –
but avoiding what’s good for me?
That comes all too easily
The comfort, the familiarity;
the softness of an unironed shirt
being caught in gentle folds
since I cannot stand up for myself, either.
At home alone with no one
to draw the words out of me –
No audience for my competence,
No eyes on my activity –
I collapse,
A dough left out for too long in the kitchen
strength and structure
lost
chemically
If a tree falls in a forest
with no one around to hear it,
does it still make a sound?
If I do star jumps in my third floor flat
And no one looks up
from the bus stop across the street,
Have I actually managed
cardiovascular exercise?
Beats me.