To me, she is a she,

and she is as powerful

as a woman can be.

She eases me like a mother does,

settles me down

from my bouts of madness,

wipes away the wreckage

I leave behind.

I found her on a somber afternoon,

a morning I long to erase,

the time between midnight and dawn,

even in a blurry memory,

I searched for her everyday.

Sometimes she comes for me

screaming, ripping me from my comfort.

I seldom complain.

Sometimes, she shakes me to my core,

awakens every nerve in my body

and I am eternally indebted to her.

She cleanses my lungs,

so I can breathe a little deeper,

inhaling a toxic serenity.