Sixteen times per minute,
twenty-two thousand breaths
in a day. No time 
like the present. 
There are no other excuses, but 
there are always other ways. 
Breathe. Choose today 
to speak up when you can, 
push out the latent sorrow, 
guilt, and anguish 
only you can understand. 
Inhale. There is no life, no 
oxygen, like this day. Despite 
our selected perceptions, 
there is not a 
single breath to waste.

© 2018 j.g. lewis