My heart is beating,
What joy it is to feel its pulse.
My lungs breathe air in, air out
My air, your air, our air.
I thank God for this miracle.

Uh oh,
Sharp pains intrude.
Familiar, unwelcome guests
To pester me,
To hold me back.

But I am stronger than the pain,
“1…2…3…4...”
 I breathe slowly and deeply
And the pain recedes a little bit. Enough.

Let the pain catch on to this game of mine
And I have an alternate plan.
I will count higher, I will breathe fuller,
I will remember that somewhere in the tornado of
The pain lies a soft pillow of peace.
It is mine.

When the pillow eludes me as it does sometimes
I will leave my body
Borrow a cloud and ride it to the sky
Float in peace and watch the waves kiss the shore.
I will sing the praises of my imagination
My gift from God.

Joan Fleitas, Ed.D., R.N.
Associate Professor of Nursing, Lehman College, CUNY
Bronx, New York 10468
 

 Last updated: November 14, 2004