Poem 20151217

the secret to breathing properly

is to imagine the lungs
expanding beyond capacity
as they fill with air

as they fill with the air
breathed out
by people you know–
the ones you work with
the ones you live with
the ones you love
the ones you hate

and those you don’t know–
the dead who breathed these same atoms
years-decades-centuries-millennia ago

fill your lungs with the air
that the dinosaurs sucked in
when the comet hurtled toward them
they all breathed out at once
a world-wide gasp

fill your lungs
and don’t let it out
let it stay inside of you
and become like smoke
in your alveoli
and only let it seep out
through your pores