THE ROAD HOME
Shimmering. So close, it whispers “touch it.”
The bright horizon of Death.
The space between us,
A single breath.
A single breath that’s all my breaths.
A single death that’s all my deaths.
A single choice that’s mine to make.
A single step that’s mine to take.
“Breathe deeper,” she speaks.
I obey.
Expanding space. Captivity crumbles, walls falling away.
Room to cry; there’s a bit more of it now.
I try to do it,
But I don’t remember how.
I make room enough for my dead heart to beat.
I make room enough to shake the chains from my feet.
I make room enough to find the tears that I lost.
I make room enough to count freedom’s cost.
“Breathe even deeper,” she speaks.
Again, I obey.
Rage; its redness fills my soul.
Burning, it consumes my space again.
I fight the flames.
The only weapons I have are paper and pen.
I write, turning flaming blood to ink.
I write, making room for my heart to think.
I write to feel what I can never say.
I write to make room to live -one- more day.
“Fill your life with breath,” she speaks.
I inhale.
Home. I can’t quite get there.
I’m betrayed by my own tricks of survival,
They got me back,
But I was dead on arrival.
I rhyme to bring myself back to life.
I rhyme some room for my kids and my wife.
I rhyme enough space that I’m no longer alone.
I rhyme enough space to fit my family and home.
“Breathe out love,” she speaks.
I exhale.
Shimmering. I reach out and touch it.
The bright horizon of Forgiveness.
It lets me expand in love,
Though I still feel pain from all that I’ve witnessed.
I breathe space enough to fit all my feelings.
I breathe space enough to find some kind of healing.
I breathe space enough to fit you in my heart.
I breathe space enough for us all. It’s only a start.
“Walk in this land,” she speaks.
I journey on.
j.w. McKinleyville 6/18/25