At the gym with the Brontes by Andrea Potos

Briskly walking and never arriving,
I feel slightly silly,
my gaze bobbing under florescent light
as I try to read the pages of Jane Eyre
weighted down on the metal tray.
Behind it, flashing red tells me
if my heart is doing its work,
if I've lopped off the damage
from last night's pie,

though I'm certain Emily and Charlotte,
even Anne, never thought of calories as
they trod their restless moors,
what on earth would they say about
exercising a body where
there is no soul to expand it,
no hems grazed by dirt and gorse,
nor hairs wrestled and undone
by a zealous wind while curlews swoop
and shriek in assent.

Andrea Potos lives in Madison, Wisconsin and is the author two collections of poetry: Yaya's Cloth (Iris Press) and The Perfect Day (Parallel Press). Her poems can be found in many places, online, and in print including Women's REview of Books, Poetry East, Atlanta Review, Eating Her Wedding Dress (Ragged Sky Press), Beloved on the Earth (Holy Cow! Press) and A Fierce Brightness (Calyx Books).

Photo by Adam Lawrence.
Street art by reader.readmore.booker.bones.hoodrich

The Books really need no introduction or explanation, but this song comes from their forthcoming album The Way Out which will be released in July on Temporary Residence LTD.