awareness pulls at my eyes.

like curtains slowly opened on a too bright morning.

consciousness creeps in, so close but just out of reach.

i can almost hear now.

the birds speak in their rhythmic language.

a gentle breeze tickles my exposed skin.

goosebumps scatter along this body.

and i remember, surely, all the lives i’ve ached for.

like the slow trickle of a calm river, cleansing every ridge.

breath fills my lungs.

carrying with the relief.

i remember breathing in the browned leaves,

that had fallen from the glistening canopies.

where we had laid. eyes closed, yet more awake than ever before.

tears roll down my face.

pooling in my ears, just like the rain.

skin pulls around my mouth.

and i laugh.

knowledge has carried freedom into my soul.

and i know, i’ll survive.