Featured Poem for November 2012 - 'Bleep' by Michael 'Mixy' Riccardi

'Bleep' by Michael ‘Mixy’ Riccardi

In my first ever PE lesson, we had to do the bleep test
Now for those who don’t know about the bleep test
The whole class stands against the wall the teacher takes a seat and rests
Presses play on an old taped CD or cassette

And when we hear the ‘beep’ we run from one side of the hall to the other end
And when we hear another ‘beep’ we run back to the start again
The ‘beep’ slowly increases speed, stamina it gets your heart pumping
I was a large munchkin I found it hard running my weight alone made my knees jar and bend

I was the first kid to drop out, I got to level three
You see, every now and then a lady's voice spoke to inform us the level we’d reached
It complimented the ‘beep’ like a breeze does a chime
And while I just scraped the third stage most others would make level eight or nine
I was literally miles behind

But, the last time I ever had a PE lesson
I was certain an determined I would do better
Plus by then I knew the other kids in my school an had become quite used to running together

So we set off on the ‘beep’
Ran back on the ‘beep’
Back and forth up and down as the ‘beep’ increased speed
An this time, I hadn’t even broke a sweat when I breached level three …
That was a big achievement for me

When I hit level six I was sweating
People had started dropping out but I had no intentions to be resting
At level seven I was of eleven still left in
Those who had dropped out now seemed impressed with my improvement since the first session

Me and just one other guy approached level nine
By that time a crowd had formed and was cheering for me
‘Yes Mixy you ‘BEEP’
‘Run like a ‘BEEP’
‘You better not stop now don’t be a ‘BEEP’

So I didn’t
Every time that ‘beep’ sounded I sprinted
I made myself stay I pushed on my limits
My companion fell away to join the crowd and witness
Me, last man standing, halfway past level ten then finish

I was happy with that
In actual fact, I was proud to see the difference in my fitness from the first class to the last

Now that’s a true story of something I made happen
Remember, it’s this simple …
Anybody that tries can be a champion.

© Michael 'Mixy' Riccardi 2012

 Please do not use without the poet's permission.

For further information about Mixy, his rapping and poetry, please visit his webpage. To book Mixy or to check his availability, please email info@bookapoet.co.uk.