By Jessica Ricks
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Everything stops.
Shaking hands, heart palpitations
Throat tightens,
There is someone standing on my chest
Weighing me down.
I am falling through space, accelerating,
The world is a haze.
My breath is stuck, oxygen deprived
Concentration long gone.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Time freezes.
Suddenly I am a ghost no longer part of myself
On the outside.
Nothing I can say can bring me back
I can’t do this.
“Get back up! Stop falling!” I scream,
I can’t hear me.
Count to ten.
I remember.
I come to a sudden stop just before I hit the ground,
No more fear.
I take my hand and whisper into my ear,
“You’re okay.”
My heart no longer threatens to escape,
I have returned.
The tears are gone just as fast as they came,
Concentrating,
Living,
Understanding.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Academy of the Heart And Mind 