In Palestra
Relentless mosquitoes work out on us
as we sweat to choreograph a miracle:
reversing atrophy, forestalling entropy.
Supple beauties stretch for an alternative
to anorexia as enhancement of allure;
veterans of Balkan peace-keeping
flex fingers to set a punch-bag swinging;
a hopeful hunter of a Syrian siren
labours to give her something solid
to cling to in the wreckage.
In confraternity of mindless exertion,
we strive to recruit forgotten muscles,
sweep free our minds, enter the nirvana
of this hour leased from the world outside.
Biography: Bryan Murphy is a former language teacher and translator who currently lives in Turin, Italy. Places that have hosted his work range from the Brighton Evening Argus to the Venice Biennale.
