Fast Ninja

They were singing “we are Macarthur
Mighty Macarthur. If you can’t hear us
We shout a little louder.”
Waiting for the race to start
My heart pumps fast like a hammer

I push myself like a ninja.
In my peripheral vision no one on either side
But I could feel Tristan hot on my heels
My legs were burning in the race
Leaping over the line, first place!

When I stop my breathing slows down.
Water I drank tasted like freezing liquid metal.
“We are Macarthur, mighty Marcarthur
if you can’t hear us we shout a little louder”
Warm and cheerful, everyone hugging me.

I was given a deep, dark blue ribbon, silky and smooth like tissue.
The most precious thing in the world!
A symbol of my terrific imagination
The ribbon now lives in a special brown cardboard box,
My mum keeps it safe for years to come.