Breath and Twine

Have the courage to breathe,
Breathe compassion,
Compassion for the world as it is.

Is there room to breathe free,
Free the fluttering wings in your chest,
Chest that rises and falls,
Falls with the ocean waves -
Waves of despair and hope?

Hope swells, crests, sweeps
Sweeps the shores -
Shores of souls,
Souls entrusted to our care.

Care comes in boxes of twine,
Twine around fingers, hearts, lungs,
Lungs straining against the world,
The world as it is.

Is there a way to weave,
Weave twine into baskets,
Baskets that hold such a wavering thing,
Thing that ebbs and flows,
Flows through our fingers,
Fingers that weave twine,
Twine into baskets,
Baskets that hold hope?