Breath

“I love breathing, I could do it all day long.” ~ Stephen Colbert


With one hand I transfer weights 
from one side of the mat to the other

while holding the rest of my body 
in a plank. My trainer says Don't 

forget to breathe—and I'm like 
You mean don't die? I can joke

about this, of course, except
when it's for real. It's crucial 

to take a breath, two, three, 
without even thinking. A privilege

I take for granted sometimes, to not 
fear choking from anything more than

my own spit. To have more times in
a day not constantly thinking about

the water rising, the fire coming, children
whose ribs can be counted as they exhale.