The Twenty-Fifth of August, Two Thousand and Eight

On an idle afternoon, a
fair-skinned girl breathes inward
in a peaceful, unhurried manner

Her chest expands, taking in life
with a peace that shows
the lack of awareness
with which this single, momentous
act is performed

As she inhales,
the air in the room is
momentarily changed,
as she takes it into her lungs
and it flows through her veins,
passing over every organ, every cell,
touching each and every fragment
of her being only a fraction
of an instant before it
is expelled back into the room,
fantastically unlike anything
it had ever been before

When the brief moment has passed,
it has done so without her ever knowing

The knowledge of such a singular,
momentous action has escaped her
completely, yet this takes
nothing away from its beauty...

...nor from her own

And, while pondering
the impact of that fleeting
moment, he fails to notice
she has gone... all evidence
of her presence having left
with her, save the whisper
of a breath left in the air
of the crowded, busy coffee shop,
never again to be the same