The water is dark tonight,

dragging me under,

cold fingers grab my ankles.

My chest burns

like the air above

was never for me.

Thoughts twist like storm currents,

each single one a stone

pulling me down

into the depths of darkness.

A pinch of light.

Small but stubborn,

it pulls me to the surface.

I kick,

my breath tearing out of me,

arms cutting through the water.

The dark thins.

The current lets go.

I break the surface.

The sky is wide and still.

I float,

breathing deep,

alive and defiant.

Is this peace, or just the eye of the storm?