Friday, November 18, 2011

Dying Hour

I want to use these great lungs of mine
To hold my breath for an hour.
I practice meditation for hours,
Warming up for the final act.
The final pause at the end of Life’s stanza.
The Taoists say holding your breath
Is yang, it strengthens every muscle
And every bone in your body.
The Taoists say that exhaling is
Yin, it relaxes and prepares
The body for some final rest;
And so, to breathe out, even to sigh
Is to die. When you read poetry
Out loud, you die. Not metaphorically,
But literally. It is the cycle of life.
I want to hold my breath for an hour
So that I can feel immortal. So that I can
Feel a strength that has never been
In my muscles and flesh. So that I can
Hold time still for just that short, minute,
Dying hour.
-Patrick Conners Jr

1 comment:

  1. Wow great poem -I don't think I've ever thought of exhaling as dying--but to a degree--there is truth in that statement.

    Cheers, Jenn

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