Breathe

​8 pm, dinner is served.

Chicken wings, like cut down wings shut within cubicles,
9 pm, let’s do a movie marathon,

Run, run, run is all we do these days, let’s rest,

10 pm, have to call Mom, she must be worried,

She worries too much for her little girl,

I ain’t so little anymore,

11 pm, let’s complete the assignment,

Oh we’re assigned too many tasks in too little time, I feel like I can’t breathe,

Breathe, it’s  just your assignment.

12 am, let’s make some tea,

To stay awake and pass another two hours with the text books that you thought you’d buy but where did your money go?

Of course you don’t know, you ate it.

1 am, should I reply to his text? I want to.

But should I, should I not, please tell me.

Ssh, go to sleep, switch off the lights, I’m afraid of brightness,

Let’s count the stars in a starless sky.

2 am, breathe, breathe, breathe,

It’s going to be alright,

Do not cry any more, they all know you exist,

There’s a bat flying towards you that can’t see you, flee,

Try to sleep, will you?

3 am, and it all comes back,

Blame it on your playlist,

Don’t play that goddamn song on loop, I told you,

How will I make it to college tomorrow?

4 am, let’s spam our Snapchat stories,

Let’s dig the dreamer in us,

I’ve made some toast and coffee,

A car in every five minutes,

Don’t people here ever sleep?

Ssh, don’t sleep now, you’ll never wake up on time.

5 am, I miss home,

Home is where the heart is,

My heart often skips a beat,

She’s crying for him,

Her eyes are swollen,

Let me put her to sleep.

6 am, I fear the sudden daylight,

Let’s not sleep at all,

The world will wake up soon,

I can’t stay awake,

My eyes are burning, and so am I,

So am I.

7 am, let’s escape,

With three mugs of chai,

Chasing dogs and dreams,

Morning walks and making memories,

Bleeding, bleeding inside out,

And we call it love.

8 am, Ssh, she has slept.

Bathe, breathe.

You have a class in 40 mins,

Don’t sleep.

Ssh, Sleep.

Breathe.