This sleeveless shirt once stayed at home,
Unworn and out of sight;
But now I’d wear it through the town
With quite a different light.
The gym was never much my world,
Just weeks of work well done;
Yet shoulders broadened, chest filled out,
And biceps came along.
I caught myself within a glass
While passing by a store;
and saw a man who’d catch my eye,
Had that man not been me.
For there beneath the cotton sleeves,
Or where the sleeves should be,
I saw a man I'd likely smile
At first glance if not me.
The gains are small by some accounts,
No cover-model dream;
Yet confidence has changed the way
The mirror catches gleam.
And so I laughed and shook my head,
Delighted by the view;
For if I'd passed myself just now,
I'd think, "Well... yes. I'd do."
—With thanks to Andrew for the training advice that started it all.
© Michael McFarland Campbell, 2026.









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