THE FEAR TO BREATHE
As an occasion turns to conversation
-- its promise of a face familiar,
the stability of intimacy within an otherwise meaningless world --
the mouth takes to breath,
anticipating the hope of an identity.
Only as the air becomes thine the moment is threatening,
for such breath induces a choke,
demanding one swallow the pain of tragedies gone by,
along with shadows departing seemingly before they've arrived.
Taken aback by the fear to breathe,
to need,
the conversation begins as a confession,
a yearn reminding the words to sing,
in hope,
as they echo a life's vulnerable passion.