From breast-stroke rhythms to free-style crawl

Edging nearer and nearer the four hundred metres  ^[1]

That mark a ten years' coming of age with gasping breath

Grabbed from the pool as a child delivered foot-first  ^[2]

From the broken waters of a mother's womb.

Full stokes of the violaceous bow ^[3] repeat the cries

Of an infant, making music da Capo together  ^[4]

And turning the page of an exploring mind

That goes beyond today, stretching into tomorrow

And the next ten years without the umbilical cord.

Control, alt, delete opens the screen for today

As the power-point cheers with drums rolls  ^[5]

While microsoft explores the infinities of cyberspace

Preserving your childhood a little longer

Before moving onto the hard drive of a grown-up.

Pedals rotate cyclically, gearing up gradually  ^[6]

To conserve energy for a warming planet

Shading Surrey's lanes explored from a saddle

As a family prepares for where they've not yet been,  ^[7]

Venturing into the wider world of another tomorrow.

2 June 2006

[1]  David completed a 400 metre swim just before his tenth birthday

[2] Breech delivery!

[3] David plays viola in the orchestra

[4] The name of the Camberley String Orchestra

[5] David introduced us to the animations of PowerPoint some years ago.

[6] The birthday gift is a new cycle

[7] A move from Camberley seems likely in the months ahead