Landscape with Yellow Birds - Paul Klee

All the things to recall Trapped within a labyrinth Giving dead eye stares Of disapproval and encouragement No bubbles for up and out Or airflow to get bearings Just a maze With a gaze That stops me In my tracks I know I'm under Know I'm under But I must have Taken a deep breath To stay there For so long It's not water you cry, someone cries Just breathe ~ distraction More than trees Branch like a tree Leaves don't sway Despite motion And pressure applied Birds with dead eye stares For stillness - this swirls It's all solid ground From shallows to sky Oh in dry heat I've set like stone Trying to breathe underwater It's not a desert to them Plants and birds That belong here Spaceless for me Reminding me That I've forgotten I need a new gulp of air But I dare not I dare not Because I'm in high levels of distress My dead stare Senses airflow Though I can't get my bearings Look this way, look that The sun fell from the sky many times Yet reflected is the cool of the moon I don't begin here There is no sound "Here are the papers you wanted, they are in the wrong order, you'll need to sort them" Punctuates my trance I'm stopped dead in my tracks I should sort these words and those papers But I need to drift to sleep Without taking a breath Wishing for vital sign regulation If I take thinking out There's no airflow Or I'm staring dead ahead Just forgetting to breathe How would I know?