Will You Be Mine?

by Jill Euclide

I asked you to see me. Suffocating. My breath stuck somewhere in over-expanded

lungs, dying to exhale- gorged to the edge of implosion- 

Not with noxious refuse of the blood,

With truth--Begging for light.

I dared to breathe out-

Image credit: Manuel bonadeo on Unsplash

To render the weight

Into words

And hoped you

Would understand.

The soul’s truth

Is sea-deep--

Treacherous, dark

Unending

Speaking in images of lost breath

Of desperation

Of life and death struggles.

Of the existence

of pieces known

To no one.

Of living two lives-

The visible details of daily

Existence as partner, mother, teacher.

And the alter ego-

The solitary soul world of

Truth-seeker-

The lone traverse

Through intensely vivid

Indescribable landscapes

There are no earthly

Landforms to encompass

The depth of such a journey--

The floods that drown me

The deserts that leave me parched

Begging for direction

The mountains I laboriously climb

The rushing rivers I fight to ford

The dark nights I navigate, holding onto

The truth of the coming morning.

Words

Spoke safely of the suffocation

Of the need to breathe-

You acknowledged that you speak

The soul’s language,

We speak it differently.

I wonder if we can’t learn

If we can’t share sacred space

If there might be part of the journey

To travel in company.

***

Jill Euclide

As a wife and mother of five, Jill Euclide juggles family life while nurturing aspiring writers as a high school English teacher. An avid runner and passionate gardener, Jill finds joy in nurturing plants, words, and souls. Recently, she has rekindled her love for writing, proudly showcasing her work in various publications. With each word, she hopes to sow seeds of inspiration and empathy for fellow sojourners on the journey.