Breathe

How do I breathe in these times?

Ancient fires from distant lands

seize my lungs.

Words choke. Body unDances.

Memory deludes remembering.

Some have not missed a step.

I am not one of them.

How do I breathe in these times?

The peewit still visits my birdbath

gives me side-eye, splashes,

even in the shallow waters.

The heron’s spread-winged dance

jolts my sombre wetland ruminations.

Her valorous heart exudes. Even now.

I remember. I remember.

I breathe, one peewit at a time.

I dance, one spread-wing at a time.