Breathing

by Sarah E. White

Taking it all in
Inhaling every last bit
Love, hate, desire, loss, laughter and rage
Taking it in
I let it mix around in my mind
Churning through my soul
Until some sense can be made
Then I breathe it out
Push it out
Letting it flow into words
An idea or an answer
A poem
But sometimes I just can’t exhale
Some thoughts get trapped inside
Processing
Pushing on my insides
Burning
Screaming for release
I have to hold on to them
Until I can breathe them out
Breathe them out with some beauty
Breathe them out better than how they went in
Anger sometimes escapes
It bursts forth from my heart
Screaming
No beauty
Just the simple blinding flash of ferocity
Sometimes it’s not breathing at all
Sometimes it’s just hot air