safe and strong

Life was one-dimensional; flat.
Breathe came in short, shallow wisps of
air never quite nourishing. Head
pulsating and body unbalanced,
the tightness in my breast revealed
by the stiffness in my gait. Vision lost
in the swirling haze around me.

Moments of clear sight and straight,
purposeful movement were slipping further
and further from my grasp.

Each day was a confusing, terrifying place
where stumbling and exposed,
I was anxious and on guard.

Breathe cut sharp,
balance gone; I fell.
Deep, black, cold.
Terrified, yet compelled,
I fell.

Enveloped by a frigid, gray
cloud of unknown reality
the vibration of my terror filled the air.

Through the numbness, across
the distance, an embrace of warmth
calmed the terror, restored the light.

Compassion cradled me and brought
safety, cleared my vision and lifted me
gently, out of the cold and dark to stand
slowly, against the nothingness surrounding me.

To stand safe and strong amidst love.

February 1980