dragon guarding water ladles at temple - JapanIn the space between my breath,
I find movement and ease,
soreness long lost,
a dance that has yet to be
I feel great, alive and…, dead to the old
There is calm and serenity, a peace long forgotten

In the space between my breath
There is a beast who slumbers, good or bad,
I do not know… but he smiles as he sleeps
I meet a dog there sometimes;
he too smiles as he slumbers.
Why these smiles, I do not know,
perhaps a secret I’m not privy to…, yet

In the space between my breath
I find bread, old and rotten, yet there is a sweet smell,
Maybe it is that of death or perhaps
that of new life growing amidst remnants of the past
I wonder what bread has to do with breath except…
possibly I misheard myself.
Perhaps this is a pattern, I shall watch to see if this is so

In the space between my breath
There still exist tunnels of dark, which are known solely to me
The depth of which no one notices
Because they are entranced by their own reflections

In the space between my breath
There are ghosts of things past and spirits of things to be,
Whom enter in the inhale and depart on the exhale,
leaving their imprint but for a moment or two…

In the space between my breath
There is snow…, unfallen