Exertion

Pushes me

Within a crowd

A light burning on

Amidst the volume

Frenetic

Fatigue chases me

Weighing on my words

Turning my food

To dust

In my mouth

But, oh, the bliss

Of solitude waiting

A chance

To spit out

The bitter ends

Of every murmur

And every distraction

That tears

At my mind

My lungs released

From the vice-like grip

Of crowds and others

And the chaos

Of being

I breathe

At last

I find the air

I hold my freedom

To my heart – Caroline A. Slee