Breathe In, Breathe Out

By Jessica Ricks

 

Everything stops.

Shaking hands, heart palpitations

Throat tightens,

Someone standing on my chest

Weighing me down.

Falling through space, accelerating,

The world is a haze.

Breath stuck, oxygen deprived

Concentration gone.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

 

Time freezes.

Suddenly a ghost no longer part of myself,

On the outside.

Nothing 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 as fast as they came,

Concentrating,

Living,

Understanding.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.