Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Breathing Room

There should be a room in every house 
or office building set aside strictly 
for breathing. No speaking allowed, 
no phones, clocks or other devices 
may be brought inside. Let the walls 
be empty and white, only potted ferns 
stirring near windows thrown open 
to a night-breeze bearing the scents 
of jasmine and lilac. You can count 
if you like until your heartbeat slows 
to its own natural pace, and your mind's 
as blank as a page in the back of a book.
If someone asks for directions, say
it’s the room at the end of the hall
with nothing else in it but a few plants
and all the air you can breathe.

—James Crews

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