I'll Keep Breathing

Air stings my lungs.

Cruel, vicious air.

Moisture rips at my eyes

begging, pleading to be released.
A soft voice whispers

“breathe, keep breathing”
Something inside refuses to listen.

Somewhere there is an answer

A release.

But where?

Where is my reminder?

My encourager?

The one I could count on to be there

to speak softly to me,

“keep breathing.”

I try to inhale, exhale...

but it hurts.

The air refuses to come painlessly.

The words, I remember the words,

they echo  within my soul

between the throbbing,

the pain.

Now every word feels like a lie.

A beautiful lie.

Maybe it was.

Maybe it wasn’t.

If not lies, they hurt all the same,

for the words are gone.

The whispers are gone.

They have fallen away.

Now my soul sits in silence,

ceases to feel, yet aches.

But I keep breathing.

So keep walking,

don’t look back,

keep moving in your direction,

keep living your life,

and I’ll just keep breathing.