Kussmaul
a german man
for which a pattern
of breathing was named
breathing that is a reflex
which the body uses
to correct a sickness
at first shallow
then deep and fast
Cheyne-Stokes
a pair of men
which coined death breathing
breathing which in its
irregular pattern
sometimes even stops
as death knocks
I am not a pillar physician
for which my breathing
can be named
but what do I call
the breathing which
overtakes me when you near
no pattern at all in fact
sometimes I just forget
forget to take a breath
until my body realizes
I am starving and gasps
and even then I wince
with each breath
as if all my energy
concentrated on loving you
burns away and my lungs
can't quite reserve
enough to breath
in the times you
come close to me
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