Writing is a habit that I can’t seem to break. I write every day because it is an impulse and a comfort. I write so much that I often forget what I have written. Below is a poem I wrote that I had forgotten all about. Some time ago, Guru Meher asked my permission if he could share this poem with his yoga students. That felt nice, that someone liked my poem enough to share it. So, I am going to share this poem here because I guess this means it is sharable, especially with those who like to practice one minute breath.
One-Minute Breath
Take twenty seconds, now, to inhale:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20.
And hold that breath in while you read the following words
over the span of twenty seconds:
What words can we speak to Law Enforcement
that upon hearing them Officers
would feel appreciated and at ease to
Inhale for twenty seconds,
Suspend the Breath for twenty seconds,
and Exhale for twenty seconds to
know clear answers
then act?
We’d all breathe the breath of sages.
We’d all breathe then act.
Now, exhale for twenty seconds and read these words:
What words can we speak to Black Men
that upon hearing them they would know their worth,
feel an endless pulse of Deep Respect, and
know that the History of Royal Spirit, the History of True Strength
and the History of Courage course through their veins?
We’d all breathe the breath of saints—
Twenty seconds in. Twenty seconds hold. Twenty seconds out.
the Rest
is History.
Now inhale for twenty seconds while reading these words:
What words could we speak to the Victims of mass violence
that upon hearing them their Untimely Deaths
and their loved ones’ Grief
could transform into
The Great Gift—the psycho shift—that would illuminate
diamond-mind awareness within
the consciousness of the New Humanity?
We’d all breathe the Grief into fearlessness.
Now, hold thisbreath—dearMaster of Life—
for twenty seconds, and read:
What words could we speak to World Leaders
that upon hearing them they would humbly serve
with genuine interest in continually feeding the hungry,
educating the ignorant, providing dignified
health care for the infirm; and, they would
lead with deep sensitivity and clarity so as to
uphold human equality, dignity and contentment
beyond liberty and justice for all?
We would all breathe and lead with kindness.
Now, exhale for twenty seconds while you read:
What words could we speak to Children
that upon hearing them they would rise and thrive—
bold and loving—hearts echoing the sound of ancient tribal drums,
romp dance, be rhythmic and fly with Rhyme
keep Time and Play the joyful beat
Infinity: alive, alive, alive?
We’d all breathe and be free.
Now, inhale for twenty seconds while you read:
What words can I speak to my own heart
that upon hearing them I would be certain that I am
tuning out the neurotic and psychotic noise
of media, of the violent throng;
and, I can tune in to—even intimately touch—
the purity of my own soul?
We’d all inhale. We’d all exhale.
Now, hold the breath for twenty seconds while you read:
What words can gods and goddesses, the One God, and the
Generating, Organizing, and Delivering force of Creation
speak as one voice
that would be heard by all beings,
and that would reassure us
that, no matter what, we are deeply loved, and
all will be well?
May the Creator of All That Is adore the Creation.
We’d all breathe.
Now, exhale for twenty seconds while you read:
If we speak, write, and sing such words,
Who will hear them?
If we speak, write, and sing such words,
Who will understand them?
If we speak, write, and sing such words,
Who would be listening?
And if—globally—we synchronize
our One-Minute Breath
for just three minutes—
just three minutes in the history of this planet—
wonder what new life We could breathe into Creation.
Rebecca Jane 