Be still... just be...

I try to float, at least

keep my head above water,

tossed about

as carelessly as a dingy in a hurricane,

flipping and capsizing

in swelling, cresting waves.

But I tire so very easily nowadays

often sinking below the churning waters

dragged down into the bleak abyss

weighted down

lower and deeper.

And when my lungs burn

and I can choke no more,

I struggle to break the surface

just to get a gulp of air,

perchance to breathe in life

with my eyes wide shut.

Only then, a fleeting thought,

perhaps I’ve been thrown

into troubled waters

not to drown,

to struggle or be tested,

but to be cleansed.

And so I will myself,

be still…

just be…

until you can once again

breathe.

(10-21-16)