breathe in poetry

Breathe, just breathe.
Just focus on your breath.
You’ve been breathing since you were born.
You’ll be breathing until your death.
It just keeps happening whether you want to or not.
It just keeps happening by reflex.
Everyone from the poorest saint alive right now
to the richest monster history ever has filed
they were breathing every second all their lives
we all get to breathe for a little while.
You can try holding it for a minute or two
but eventually your body will take back over
either violently because your body needs air
or subtly because you’ve forgotten to not.
The moment you stop trying to not breathe
you’re breathing.
The moment you start thinking about
anything other than not breathing
you’re breathing.
As long as you’re alive,
your body will make you keep doing it.
It is autonomic for us people
just like sleep going into R.E.M.
we try to stop for a little while
but when our conscious mind wanders
it kicks in again and we start breathing.
Everyone who has ever lived
is living and will have ever lived
was doing this all the time
no matter how much they tried
until just after they died.
Breathe, just breathe.
Everyone else is doing this too.
Sleeping weeping eating pleading
we are all breathing.
We are all equal in our breathing
when you breathe, you are everyone
when you breathe, you are breathing just like everyone.
Focus on that
we are all the same in the joy and the burden
of subconsciously breathing in and
breathing out and breathing in and
breathing out.
When you breathe,
you are just like everyone.
When you notice your breathing,
you realize your are just like everyone.
Because you are always doing it
you are always like everyone.
Breathe, just breathe.
Focus on it.
It will be how you know we are all the same.