A left a right, and keep it tight

The trainer barks it out

And through the gloom, this dingy room

There’s no doubt about this bout

So driven on, he draws upon

Those years within the ring

Set apart, a willing heart

Within the coiled spring

One, two, three, come on to me

Aggression is unleashed

The ache, the strain, to make the gain

As pressure is increased

Arms that weigh, and feet of clay

Lungs now on the brink

A body shot, then uppercut

Feign and move, then sink

That working smell, a tale to tell

Now hangs for all to taste

As silently they wait in turn

The challenge to be faced

That crooked clock it steals the time

2 minutes must be through

Sweat seeps out through the tortured frame

And settles like a dew

Forced and driven to the end

Four sides, where none can hide

Eventually a break is called

The trained is drained inside

He makes towards the flaking paint

Of a window, broken clasp

And lays across the topmost rope

Draws breath with every gasp

Behind him softly rolls the praise

Over shoulders that now heave

That was sound, but the next round

More duck, more bob, more weave

A head that shakes acknowledgement

Still bowed towards the floor

No time to dwell, there goes the bell

Time for two minutes more.