Breathing

BREATHING

She’s been unconscious
for over 12 hours now.

Which might not seem like a long time
if you’re lying on a beach on your
last day of vacation
or having a busy day at work.

But when all you’re doing
is watching someone breathe
and wondering if they’ll breathe again
it can feel like time is standing still.

She’s breathing on average
six and a half times per minute
if I were to count.
Which I do because what else
do you do when all you can do is
watch and wonder and count.

And six and a half times per minute
means that there are many times when
I think it has to be down to four now
because it’s such a long time in between.

So I count again and it’s still six and a half.

-Leah Costello