constriction

artist - Beth Cavener Stichter

constriction
lungs reaching for air
throat closing

trapped
pinned down
struggling against
an immovable object

now
there is nothing
holding me
nothing tying me down

but

still
tightness,
shallow breaths,
struggling, pulling

i want free!
i want release
i want to breathe
deeply ~

i want to fill my lungs
with the sweet air of freedom

trapped
by fear
of my own making,

unseen
but
just as real