Breathe

We breathe and smile at one another,
Glad for the company of family and lovers
To share the joy life brings to all hearts
While working and playing our short part
Sharing until breath leaves the quiet heart.

It is not our way for flesh to stay and stay,
Our wills do not control our bodies’ fate,
Our genes dance and twist our youth away
And the dangers of life must have their say
Of death’s end we can but hope to delay.

Once still they share not our mortal pain
No word or smile can we witness again.
From cremation’s mill comes ash and haze
Now joining the wind’s orbiting flight
To soar and float amongst cloud and light.

I breathe and they are breathless
I breathe and my lungs hold and gives
Much more than air within my ribs
I breathe and they are next to my heart
With every breath I take, we meet and part.