I’ve never befriended a lion

I’ve never swam with dolphins in the warm waters of Spain

but I have clung to my body board in the blisteringly boiling summer in Llansteffan.

I’ve never befriended a fully grown lion with a mane as bright as lightning

but I have hung out with my pals in the Heath.

I’ve never tasted ice cream in the middle of a snowstorm

but I have nibbled on a seeded breadstick on a long car journey to Suffolk.

I’ve never seen an alien

but I have seen an image of an axolotl.

I’ve never touched the sun

but I have burnt my hand on a lightbulb

I’ve never watched a black hole suck up light

but I have watched chocolate melt in a saucepan.

I’ve never climbed a cliff with no harness

but I have climbed an artificial rock wall.

I’ve never scaled the Burj Khalifa

but I have gotten out of breath climbing up Kite Hill

I’ve never played Apollo’s lyre in Greece

but I have played a shiny brass trombone

 in a hall flooded with rays of sunlight