We are made of stars and stories,

of ancestors’ dreams

and Earth’s oxygen,

of orange-yellow sunrises

and rhythmic blue waves,

of whispered caresses

and shattering lessons,

of forgotten lyrics

and early-morning birdsong,

all delicately woven into human form

where hope and faith and trust and love

are as much of our self

as our strong and brittle bones.

It is only through breath that these are stirred to life

alchemically charged on the inhale

so that we may feel our light

transmuted on the exhale

so others may see our truths