Breathe

Victoria Peng

Heart pounding, pulse racing, it grips me.

Breathe.

Blood rushes from my hands.

Palms sweaty.

Breathe.

The thumping of my pounding heart vibrates within my inner ear walls.

until there is silence.

Breathe.

The silence is deafening.

Ringing begins to form in my ear.

Breathe.

Cement hold my feet in place.

Chains lock my hands onto the podium.

Breathe.

My throat closes up.

Sand fills my mouth.

Breathe.

Every ounce of moisture leaves my body.

Breathe.

I inhale.

Breathe.

I exhale.

Breathe.

I look into a sea of darkness.

One last breath.

I begin.

Paralysis  

Handprints.

Handprints on my body.

I see them all over.

Unwanted handprints touch my thighs.

I feel them as I drift in and out of sleep.

In and out of the darkness.

In and out of reality.

I scream but my voice falters.

I jolt my body to kick start.

The darkness overpowers me.

I fall.

I fall.

I tumble down towards light.

I reach out to feel its warmth on my fingertips.

A warm hand caresses my face.

Wake up.

Wake up.

For a brief moment I feel tranquility and peace.

Handprints disappear from my body.

I am but a blank canvas.

Untainted.

The warm paradise I hold begins to slip away.

The façade fades away.

I never left the darkness.

Handprints reappear.

I am living in my own hell.

Over and over.

I scream again but only into an endless abyss.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

 Kirkstall Abbey

Light shines down from the gloomy clouds.

Its warmth touches my skin.

I watch the light triumph the grey sky.

The brightness touches every corner of the land.

The rolling hills become vibrant with colour.

The ruins of a once holy place sit lonesome.

Flocks of black birds fly overhead, circling the ruins, scavenging for any remains.

A place of death and isolation the ruins are.

But the light still touches every stone,

Until it illuminates.

Light from the heavens shine on this forgotten divine place.

I am transfixed of its grandeur.

Light spills from every crevasse,

Chasing away the circling flock.

I reach out to touch the cool stone on my hand.

Memories of a time long past embed each rock.

Rich history is contained within these ruins.

The light lifts away the darkness,

Until the shadows are no longer.

The grandeur of a once magnificent stone fortress stands before me.

The light is only temporary,

It too also passes.

And in the quick glimpse of this beautiful structure, it disappears again.