In the spirit of breathing

in the spirit of breathing,
i will use my belly today
a balloon filled with warm air
it will lift me —
like a child holding onto too many.

in the spirit of breathing,
i will thank these primative instincts
for protecting me in the wild
but i will let them move onto better things
like digesting
and telling me when to close my eyes
during scary movie scenes.

in the spirit of breathing,
i will fill my body
with so much momentum
that i can huff
and puff
and blow my house down
the house that i grew up in
the house that does not serve me
any longer
because in the spirit of breathing
i have to let go, too.

2020 Emily G. Wolfson. All Rights Reserved.

Illustration by Irene Lee