so much is in the breath

frustrations,

callous throughout the day,

stressors embedded in the

brain &

a heartbeat exceeding what

should be recorded as “healthy,”

and yet we march on

march on

march on,

with no end in sight &

only crippling age & illness to

look forward to,

still,

so much is in the breath one

takes,

deeply sucking in the air around &

exhaling---

focusing on nothing but the breath---

do it again,

whoooooooosh &

the lungs fill up with a purity little

known to us, with the exception of

maybe the drinking of a glass of water

(that we lead ourselves to believe is

still clean)---

closing the eyes this time &

pushing all the thoughts but the breath

out of one’s mind &

we are left with whatever one can call

an individual peace,

until the next time we designate a

moment

just to

breathe.