Thwarted

No torment so sweet 
As a brand-new bicycle 
Confined to the house 
As the rain falls. 

The spotless silver chain, 
Those glossy black tyres 
That smooth, gleaming paint: 
I cannot do it – 

Something within me rebels 
At the very thought 
Of knowingly exposing her 
To what’s out there: 

Bleak roads all awash 
Seeded with needle-tipped flints 
Slathered with churned filth 
Potholes like bomb craters. 

Fear not, my lovely. 
The moment will come 
When, under blue skies, 
We finally get acquainted