Lifetime

"We only have one"

Is what my mother says to me.

But to some degree

We live many lives

Meeting many people

We're perceived in their eyes

In a form only they get to experience

So I tend to hold on tight

To this feeling of relevance

And my heart swells

When I look into their eyes

The air becomes tense

And I take the first chance

To take the deepest breath

Of the oxygen we all breathe

And I exhale all the debris.

Because this version of me

Is one of many

That few can say existed

But it's all real to me

And I get to share this uncertainty

With yours.

In this one life.

-Verdure