In, out Two words used to explain the two options for going through a door In and out The phrase my parents used throughout my childhood to explain how long we would be in the grocery store And we were sometimes in there a little longer Than in and out The description used by my surgeon that was to represent the simple explanation of my nasal surgery A quick outpatient procedure and I should stop having chronic sinus issues In, out The simplest rules that create a pattern to continue sending and receiving air through our lungs And just like my surgery it’s much more complex But to use two simple words explains it the best The breath goes in as we take it all in And the breath goes out as we send it out And just like my parents When they would take us to run errands Going through different aisles To get all we need before going to the checkout lane There is much more that happens in between The in and the out As our organs play a melody that the choir can’t live without But all we see is this simplistic remix, the in and out The beginning and end Breath, we take a breath Most of us take for granted how easy it is for us to take A breath As a kid who battled asthma and an adult who still carries an inhaler I oftentimes have to take conscious breaths But even then my story can’t even compare To the beautiful souls on a waiting list waiting for a chance To have the advantage Of in, out Step one, step two, we forget how good it feels To have in, out We get so caught up in our list of to-dos We forget to take a moment to say Thank you for in, out I remind myself to take the steps, the simplest steps Even on the days where it feels like I can’t On the days where work isn’t fun anymore To love what you do and never work a day? But what about the days where I’m working and I love it But it’s still a pain And on my days where my family is far from perfect The days where apologies and insecurities are colliding and colluding And I feel so insecure I start to wonder if it was all worth it And on the days where the news makes me angry Where change seems unrealistic and middle ground seems like an impossible dream On the days where my car seems like it won’t start When I try to make breakfast but everything ends up burnt When I’m an hour from home and my phone is on one percent When I start to doubt my choice to live on the West Coast and pay this much in rent On the days when I’m tired of shopping but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for You too have had these moments when you’re just hoping for an open door When my health is failing me, friends aren’t around When my confidence is too quiet, when my fears are too loud When everything is just as it seems Broken pictures and scattered dreams And everything I want is confused with what I need But it doesn’t even matter because none of it is coming to me When I feel alone When I am alone Somehow, there is still hope Because just like the motions it takes to go through a door My body is ready to do the only consistent thing that life brings forth In, out It tells me that there is still a chance to recover In, out It tells me that right now won’t last forever In, out With each passing breath, there is more promise of the next In, out In, out Sometimes soft, sometimes consistent Sometimes heavy, sometimes burdened Sometimes the in is because of surprise Sometimes the out is the reality of demise Sometimes the in filled with disbelief Sometimes the out is the only form of relief In, out I will not take it for granted I will not lose sight of the only thing I know Because in a world of uncertainties and things I’m unsure of I will always remember that where there is breath There is hope