breathing

sometimes it becomes
the hardest part
not physically, i mean
but the type of shock
that sets your head spinning until your chest
is on fire from lack
of oxygen.
what you hear
doesn't matter, the end result
is the same -
a racing heart skittering in sync
with your gasping,
the oxygen deficit
pounding in your skull.
blood
never hurt as much as this
razors never made so much
of an impact, not in a visceral sense -
a small cut never seized my entire body
and froze my senses, temples
pounding as your vision
goes black
and you sink,
to the refrain of
"hello, are you
okay, can you hear
me? can you
hear me?"