She limps into the cafe, her legs
in racing car green sports shorts.
Her feet are Colgate white and her torso is
a Nike tick. She spots her neighbour
doing a crossword and tells her the news.
I wish I was doing something wild, she says,
but I was just bobbing up and down with the grandkids.
Perhaps I’ve been training too hard lately.
Luckily it just popped straight back into the joint.
She says her goodbyes and hobbles to buy
a vegan meatball wrap.
Not good for you, all that moving about,
her neighbour says in my direction
before reading the clue for two down:
11 letters, surname of former lead singer
of the Pussycat Dolls.

© Carl Burkitt 2023