{One Long Breath}

Wild Seas - Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island

At the top of the cape the air is sharp and clean, my lungs widen,

my heart slows, and the strain of the climb loosens into quiet.

It is strange that we forget this constant,

this breathing that keeps us tethered to sky and earth, the silent companion of every moment.

The first gasp of a newborn opens life, the last exhale closes it,

and all that comes between is one long breath moving in and out,

one tide that turns without end, one ocean moving through the body.

I have read the numbers, millions upon millions of breaths across a lifetime,

but what matters more is the miracle of the present inhale and the soft surrender of the present exhale.

Some skim the surface of the lungs while others dive deep into pranic or holotropic practice,

yet breath itself asks for nothing, remaining faithful whether shallow or full, hurried or slow.

So I give thanks, here on the edge of the cape, where Bass Strait spreads wide as forever,

where waves rise and fall with the rhythm of my ribs, where the wind passes through me like a messenger, and where I no longer know where I end and the ocean begins.

© Ajanta Judd words and image. All Rights Reserved.

Not to be used or shared without permission or citation of author.

{One Long Breath} Cape Woolamai Poem