Breathe
A poem
Trigger warning: depression.
Grey light of dawn pushes through every crevice
hits eyes, waking mind from fitful slumber.
Day presses down upon tired body, holding, hiding, it under.
Sound of feet on stairs alert, mother’s presence is requested.
Body pushes up and out through heavy haze of sleepless nights.
Cold floor on feet sends whispers of sensations up limbs
urging numb appendages to tuck back under cover,
to hide from world and life once more.
Children’s voices call up, come down, make breakfast
overruling seductive softness of bed and cover.
Day’s weight, a crushing force on chest now
halting breath, halting heart, halting mind.
Body rises through syrup, descends endless stairs.
Vortex of morning chaos whips at hair and nerves.
Cacophony of shouts passes through ears
as sound through water, distorted and strange.
Coffee and toast sit on table, taunting, mocking,
throat constricts at thought of taste on tongue.
Nourishment cold and stale, sucked dry by sorrow
decomposes on plate as…
