I'm trying to push through,
To weather this storm the best I can.
I'm trying to endure the fire,
Trying to stand on sinking sand.

I feel myself drowning,
The waves crashing over my head,
As the cold abyss below
Brings me closer to my eternal bed.

My vision begins to blur
As each extremity starts to numb.
I dread the man I find within,
The man that I've become.

Clawing to reach the break—
To escape this watery doom—
I lose hope to continue onward,
As, my life, this depression consumes.

Just, however, at the ordained time,
A gasp of fresh air fills me:
Reviltilizing my soul and hope.
What glorious peace, I did not foresee!

When the world around me crumbles
And all I once had is lost,
When the risks outweigh the rewards
And I can't handle the final cost,

When everyone else disappears
And I'm left to fight alone,
When today's too much a struggle
And life tomorrow is unknown,

When the tears fall more often
And my thoughts keep me awake,
When I feel I can't handle it anymore
And I've had about all I can take,

When I've been battered and bruised
And am just a shell of a man,
When I'm wanting to continue on
But I just don't know if I can,

The breath of air is perfect—
Providing me hope to endure through—
And every second I'm close to giving up,
I'm reminded that breath is you.

-Brett Andrew Heard
August 12, 2023
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