The morning crawls to a halt 

and me along with it. I was sluggish when I

awoke. The thought of getting out of

bed, followed by exercise, shaving, showering,

dressing and then out the door seemed like a fruitless effort.

‘Are we doing this again?’

Get up! Go outside, tap and travel—smile

nod and repeat, smile, nod and repeat.

Order and drink extra strong coffee to wake up from a restless night’s sleep.

Eat overnight oats that spent hours soaking up soy milk.

‘Am I my own person or just caught up in the everyday

hustle and bustle; the grind?’

Sleepwalking through “life.”

Conversations take place but I don’t hear the response.

Words are spoken but they have no meaning.

‘Sure, I’ll let you go! We should do this again sometime.’

I catch myself and remind myself.

‘Slow down…

Breathe in and hold—1, 2, 3, 4—and out—1, 2, 3, 4.

Slow down.

Breathe in

and out.

Slow down.

Breathe in

and out….’