By Kimia, age 15
Inhale.
Atoms, existing to exist,
Selectively chosen as a force takes them away,
from their counterparts in the air.
Into the trachea, a tube of reliability.
Where rings of cartilage build the trust
Of consent forms they couldn’t sign,
For their involuntary travel to the lungs.
The diaphragm muscle, contracts.
The intercostal muscles, contract.
But the one breathing, doesn’t.
The one breathing doesn’t do all the work.
While the muscles make complaints that don’t get answered.
Because the one breathing, keeps breathing.
And as the lungs expand,
One realises that what makes one feel complete,
Is taking a deep breath.
One that abuses the entire respiratory system.
And as for the element that got through security,
Oxygen moves through the alveoli,
To catch the next available train of capillaries,
For a fast service to destination Mitochondria.
Where it will work underpaid hours,
Of keeping one alive.
Exhale.