Today I went outside, took in some ‘fresh’ air.
(Not sure I’d call anything in this smog infested city fresh.)
I breathed, and breathed, and breathed.

I took in so much air until I wasn’t sure there was room in my chest.
(Though with my heart missing its half full at best.)
When I finally felt like bursting I released all my waste,
exhaled it so forcefully I felt my lungs leaving too.

When the little boy handed me that day lily,
I didn’t mean to spend time breaking it. But I had to pull out its center.
Because like me, it looks prettier empty.
The core of it all is unnecessary.

When I found a spider living inside I gasped.
Not for fear, but because how beautiful is it, to find another creature like me. Living inside of beauty, hiding from the animals outside.

The smog in this city is filling my lungs. Each inhale burns my core,
the one I emptied so long ago.
Today I finally felt it filling again.
For once I think I felt whole.