I cannot breathe
The lucid air
I used to crave

I cannot fill 
My eager lungs
With smoky dreams 

I cannot seize
Pulverized ashes
Kicked in the wind

I cannot leave
A world of blue
And golden beams

I cannot shun
Living the real
Prosaic hues

I cannot keep
Loosening threads
Of human seams

I cannot spurn
A joy once known
Difficult to peel

I cannot drop
An era of soul
Searching for peace

I cannot drown
Lifetime of words
Into the stream

For once a dream
Is killed and gone
Buried in  dusk

And when a spark
Is snuffed to death
Birthed a scream

So then I scream
My heart out till 
I cannot breathe

I can

Not

B. r. e. a. t .h. e.