always there

"always there"

I can feel it there 

when I hear a piano playing 

or when I hear 

the sadness in someone's singing, 

I can feel the delicate pressure 

behind my eyes 

as I listen 

to the elegant plucking 

of certain guitar strings, 

It's there when there's silence 

and it's just me 

and the sunset 

alone together

for a few moments 

before the blues of night 

spread across the sky

and everything in me changes 

from a barely held together 

type of strength 

to a fraying of emotion,

It releases through my skin 

and in my tears 

and the pressure that was there 

pushing against me 

that I was holding back 

goes away,

Like holding my breath 

for a long moment

and longer still

and longer

and finally 

letting it out 

the air 

in my lungs 

through my mouth

and feeling the moment again,

The relief 

cascades up my spine 

as I listen 

to the quiet swaying 

of the water 

against the shore,

the muted sounds of everything 

hang in the air 

and the world becomes quiet 

and I can feel it there 

amongst the silence,

Always waiting 

just beyond

the seconds of any given moment, 

ready 

to be pulled 

into existence 

once again

every time 

I breath in.

-Armando Torres