Saturday, March 14, 2020

RELAXATION TECHNIQUE

Settle back—you, having
split once again into
doctor and patient,
are attempting to council your
patently worse-off half—
think of each breath
as a good-willed flame
which serves humanity
before extinguishing itself politely;
or, if that doesn't work, maybe
it's a new species of bird—
a hugely important
missing link to the dinosaurs—
which has yet to be discovered.
Or maybe—this breath is just
shit and trivial, but the next one
is sure to be super special?
Pinning down the winning analogy
is proving more difficult
than either of you imagined;
but eventually, you both agree
that each breath is definitely
a round in a game called
Let's Pretend We Can 
Keep This Up Forever
and that all of your friends
are playing too, and, for once
everyone is happy to use
the exact same rules.