an ode to life

[thejennster]

Take a deep breath,
the sharp taste of it
on your tongue,
let the air
fill your lungs
with the very thing
you need
to live.
Let the burn
in your chest
bubble to the surface
with a fury that you lost
years ago.
Let it empty
its vengeful fire
into your throat
and burn away your hunger
to remind you
that you are alive.

Close your eyes
at long last
lay down
for the rest
that you crave
above all else.
Let the ache
of the long days
settle into your bones
with each forced breath,
pinch the nerves
in your every move
until dry tears slip
down your cheek,
sharpen your body
into knives
that pierce you
with every move
to remind you
that you are alive.

Wake
at a crawl
in the morning,
open your eyes
to the burning light,
let the slow
d r a g g i n g
thoughts of you
and your still-healing
still-broken mind
and the weight
of your body
too heavy to lift,
to bring you breath,
bind you to the bed
bury you in
the blankets that keep you
and drown you
in the pillows
that you welcome
at the end of it all

to remind you
despite it all
with the burn
in your throat,
lungs, heart;
throughout
the ache
in your bones,
the pinch 
in your nerves,
the knives
in your bones;
the d r a g g i n g
binding
burying
drowning
sleep from your
mind and body
that you
are somehow
still alive.