Breath – an #improv #poem

The air I breathe used to be different.
It used to be stagnant and filled with
Forcing my way headlong into
Shoulds and wishful thinking.

Though somehow I managed
To get somewhere even with
All that struggle, I sensed
A hole in my lungs that allowed

Too much of my breath to escape.
Shallow and listless, my inhales
Were purely practical.
What I needed was a breath of inspiration.

I’d love to wax philosophical here
About the importance of self-motivation,
Self inspiration, and possibly even
Manly independence. I simply cannot

Claim that there is no one else to credit.
For when you entered my life
My breathing shifted into a
Deeper, more beneficent rhythm.

And with that breath, walls
Have been shattered
That once stood guard
Around my lungs and heart.

Open and vulnerable, no longer
An impenetrable fortress,
I stand exposed to those things
I thought would kill me:

Living,
Breathing,
Loving,
Loved.

~ improvised (spontaneously composed, unedited) by Stan Stewart
~ Copyright © 2013, 2019 by Stan Stewart and muz4now, inc. All rights reserved.