the night Greg
summoned up the courage
to deliver his carefully prepared speech
to Sandra,
he was nervous,
declaring that he would
climb the deepest oceans
and swim the highest mountains
to be at her side

when Sandra laughed at him
and pointed out his mistake,
Greg fled and did not leave
his bedroom for ten days

the next time he saw her
Sandra was seeing Steve Glover
whom she subsequently was to marry

six years later, though,
Greg was to have the last laugh
when he became the first man
to swim breaststroke
across Mount Kilimanjaro