You Tell Yourself

“Breathe.”
You tell yourself
To be quiet
And just
Inhale
Exhale
But the voices echo
In your head
And your heart;
Which one is yours?
Or did you stop talking
Long ago,
After finally
Accepting
Giving in
Giving up
No-one ever heard you
No-one even tried
To listen.
They just spoke
And spoke
And spoke
Of themselves
And what they thought of you;
So why bother?

“Breathe.”
You tell yourself
That everything is going to be okay.
That you must live
Each day
One day
At a time.

“Breathe.”
A command,
An order,
Not a reminder
Or a suggestion.
For this is a war
With an enemy unknown
And your only weapon
Is your voice
And the only one who can hear it
Is you.