Abs are sculpted in the kitchen
with strong spatulas and non-stick pans
mixed with ancestral recipes and imported chillies
recounting seventy stories with unrelated aunties and uninvited uncles,
Yes, good company is protein rich,
it’s couscous with your cousins,
falafels with those you call family,
fusilli with friends
yes, feed them, make THEM fat,
if no one’s got abs, everyone’s got abs.
To get those abs, hit the gym
curl those dumbbells, shrug those plates,
lift the barbell till you pinch your shoulders
lift your mother too, with fresh flowers and your father with a hug
lift those you can’t reach with prayers, petitions and policies
lift up to God the weights wrapped round your mind
lift your neighbour with a smile and a gift.
To get abs, move more, take long walks round the lake
or pond at the back of the estate or
loops round the park with the dog
or 5k’s with Kate from work,
move more, across Blaydon or
marathon through Athens, Budapest, Prague,
hike through Kathmandu, pace yourself through Machu-pichu
stay hydrated through Lagos and Accra, sip the Nile in Uganda
climb Kilimanjaro and run to Kinshasa
keep racing through the pyramids
swim home through the Suez and
eat all the carbs.
Here I Am 