#32 Breathing

I'm an asthmatic.

Sometimes, I really struggle for breath.

And I have to stay calm.

Can't be mad or fanatic

That way, I walk to close to death

To very dangerous harm.



You treasure seconds

You store them up for later use

Life is more real

The struggle beckons

As you try to reach a truce

So you can still feel



And then suddenly life is back to its normal pace

You're hustling about again, forgetting time is a race

You'll spend days doing nothing at all

Forgetting the moment you hit the wall



Forgetting the sweetness of the first true taste of air after an attack

Forgetting the fleetingness of moments where you didn't know how to come back

Forgetting the alien sound of wheezing coming from no mouth but yours

Forgetting the difficulty of the ground, the feeling of your pores



I have known the value of a single exhalation

Only when you know that can you know inspiration

Take that struggle, and know asthma only highlights what you spend every moment doing

Pull yourself up young muggle, because tonight you realise what is worth pursuing



See, that near death experience has become routine

I can disappear, greet the reaper, and return with absence unseen

It's not often, and normally it's not to severe

But when it is, you'll know if you happen to be near



Breath is short

Words are now even shorter

I become more zen

I'm caught

Possibly down for the slaughter

Life is precious again

***

http://harryisapoet.blogspot.com/2013/08/32-breathing.html