Fresh Air

Fear gnaws at my belly

like a tiny mouse

trapped in a maze

sniffing stagnant oppressive air

for even a whiff of freshness

Faintly, the air cools and stirs

~ a tiny chance for escape ~

stills the little mouse

to watch and to wait

ready to dart forward.

Confidence alongside fear

glows in the tiny mouse’s soul

easing the gnawing at my belly

breathing in the cool fresh air

gentling the urge to escape.

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance