Lighter

Here’s to feeling lighter.

 

Folks ask if I am better:

Am I “doing better?”

Feeling “safer” than before?

And today my response is

I am lighter.

 

Not miraculously healed.

Not tenaciously optimistic

But I am lighter.

 

My forehead no longer sweats.

My palms no longer shake.

And air flows more freely

Through my lungs.

 

The weight is gone:

That tedious, weakening presence

Which filled my head with lead.

 

Breath may still hurt at times.

The tiredness may come back.

But today my load is lighter.

My hopes are a bit higher.

And I see the value of

Living through the fire.

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