Lying awake in a dark tent
Putting off the inevitable moment
When the pressure in the bladder
Has to be relieved

It’s been raining in the night
My little low tent
Is hard to get out of
At the best of times
Even more so
When the flap is wet
And the ground is wet
And I want to stay dry

Finally I give in
Unzip the sleeping bag
Wriggle out of the silk sack
Or so I think
Unzip the tent
Put crocks outside
Hands out
One in each crock
In protection from
Wet and muddy ground

Crouching
One foot comes through
The tent door
Balancing on one foot and
One hand
On the ground
The other foot comes through

Oops tent mesh caught
Under the heel
Quickly resolved
Or so I think

In the dark
I fumble towards
The shrubs by the tent
A little pee in the grass
Won’t do any harm

Crouching once again
Relieving the said pressure
I notice something behind me
And realise
It was my silk sack
That was caught
In my crock
Under my heel
And it had not been
Released

And now
I’m peeing
All over it

Fumbling attempts
To rescue the sack
Yield little success

It seems that Sunday
Will be
Washing day