Why Do We Breathe
By JC
Have you ever thought,
Why do we breathe?
And how when people get to be old
They have to leave
I always wanted to know,
How did everyone come to be?
How, who, and why did they choose me?
Some people say our breath is a blessing
But me, I think of it as a special lesson
Why do we breathe?
Someone, please let me know
Before I have to leave
I think I’ll be fine
If I just believe
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JC,
Wow, this is so beautiful and very powerful. I have come across this poem as part of a college course aimed at community engagement.
I love how thought provoking this poem is. The rhythm of this poem is beautiful as well. It flows so well, sentence to sentence. I think this poem really speaks to the end of life as well. How we don’t know what happens after we take our last breaths and we just have to “believe” that “it’ll be fine.” This poem is a piece of art, thank you so much for sharing it with the world!
JC –
Why do we breathe? This is the kind of opening to a poem that really calls attention. It’s an honest question that seems obvious. And because it’s so obvious, it makes the reader think, “wait, what’s he getting at?” And then your next line that describes the inevitability of death, it hits – “ah, he’s questioning the very meaning of life itself” from there it really unfolds, because you’re questioning the very reasons for life, questioning something so basic and necessary to it – breathing – becomes more clear. If we’re just going to die anyway, what’s the point of breathing now? The existentialist crisis! The whole poem then seems like you’re asking about what your place is in life itself, without knowing what the larger purpose, and therefore your specific purpose, is. Thank you for sharing your poem – because this tension is present in all our lives and minds. Anyone who isn’t asking themselves this from time to time is merely in denial of how little we understand what we are apart of.