Breathe

I tell myself to breathe
Command my lungs
To take in air and let it out
Even as I feel the walls
Closing around me
I tell my body to fight
The fear spreading like fire
Panic taking hold
Of every limb, muscle and bone
Hands curled: clawing, grasping
Trying to hold on
A rope, a lifeline I can’t see
With eyes open wide
Unblinking and unseeing
In the darkness of the night
I feel myself scream
With a soundless voice
Crying out for help
That will never come
So I tell myself to breathe
“This, too, shall pass”
And I will open my eyes
To a world unchanged,
Unaffected and unfazed
Aftershocks tremble within my body
Yet the earth keeps turning
Time keeps moving
And so, with deep calming breaths
I will pick up the pieces
Of my broken soul, and I will rise.