during our mindful minute in english class,

my teacher repeats,

breathe in your worries

breathe out your worries

breathe in

breathe out

breathe

BREATHE!

i can’t breathe

—

we are trapped

under a weightless, harmless future

plastic bags trickle into our life

our life leaks into the ocean

we are doomed

under the pressure of the water

water that is no longer available,

obstructed by the sheets of sin

a floating, white barrier is released into the water

we slip out of it and into our real home

the fear is gone now

we are finally s e p a r a t e d

we are finally free

—

we are wholly unworthy of our

holy waters

yet we continue to exploit

with rising temperatures and rising ignorance

it moves us to fuel 

this ever-evolving movement

—

i can breathe in