One day at a time. One breath at a time.
Breathe in.
Recall the resolve in the form of a woman whispering that you know what to do,
screaming for you to do something, anything at all because you can’t sit there waiting
for the fog closing in to swallow you whole. Some day it may forget you
even if it clouds your vision. Even if you still forget, too.
Forget about the black smoke circling the inside of your scarred lungs
taking up space inside you like a black hole. Forget about all the light it stole
and the nerves it left twisted like vines wrapped around your legs,
wrapped around mirrors, shattering your image you fought so hard to see
all to keep you from remembering how much you’re like Mercury.
You’re needed, but you clipped your wings foolishly thinking you’ve only deceived.
If only you could translate the soot you inhale into fresh air.
No – if only you cared to.
Imagine melting into the sand beneath the sun
after plucking your feathers off one by one leaving them for someone else to use,
your chest opening to pour out the truth and mix into the minerals that cradle you.
Let the rock scratch off your hardened armor until it feels like nothing more than sugar.
Let the tide exhale and pull you into its lungs. No one needs to know
what you exhaled days before and no one needs to know what you’re breathing in tomorrow.
Breathe out.
One day at a time.
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Picture Credit : Beth Adami
