Breathe

Breathe in, breathe out. Too shallow, too fast. Relax, focus. Breathe in, breathe out. Slow the mind, ease the thoughts. Rampant emotion, unrequited fear. Focus fool! And don’t forget to breathe. Slow the mind, ease the thoughts. My mind is slipping, And in the back of my brain I feel it. A door is open And through said portal a parade is marching. A hundred faces, with a thousand voices. The murmuring in the back of the mind. I’m not crazy! I can’t be insane… Everyone I know feels this way. But do they count? The ones inside me? The voices, not loud, but the soft whisperings? It matters not! I can silence them, mostly. Breathe in, breathe out. Too shallow, too fast. Relax, focus. Breathe in, breathe out. Stress I’m just stressed, yes. That is my issue, not the voices in my head. I need a vacation, a day off from life. That would help, I do believe. But yesterday I had off…right? And the murmurings still haunted me… But I’m not crazy! I haven’t gone round the twist. My sanity is intact; I know it exists. My manic laughter in spite of misfortune, The hysteria and ecstasy which I feel welling up, They are not madness, I swear it! It is just coping, I think. Indeed! Coping. I laugh so as not to cry, And to let out some steam. There is no harm in that. Better to laugh than scream…? Breathe in, breath out. Deep and long. Muffle the voices, I must stay strong. Relax, focus. I will pull through. Failure is no option; too much depends on you. Breathe in, breathe out.