Remain

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How does one breathe
when the air has turned to stone

How does one stand
when the ground is no longer there

I called to the dark
and nothing returned
I knelt at the edge of the world
and it would not open

How does one speak
when the words fall away

How does one walk
when every road turns back

I carried this weight
until I disappeared inside it
I wore this silence so long
it became who I am

Is this where you are
have you always been here
beyond what I could endure
beyond what I could see

We have been here
We have always been here

Before you
After you

We remain

Then tell me how
how do you go on

How do you make it
when there is nothing beneath you

I did not rise
I was not saved
I only remained
and remaining was enough

We remained
When the night would not end

We remained
When the names we loved were gone

This is not survival
This is older than survival

This is the part of us
that cannot be undone

Let the world be too much

we have been too much before

Let the weight be endless

we have carried what has no measure

We are not whole
We are not healed
But we are here
and here is vast

Here is vast
Here is ancient
Here is everyone who broke
and did not disappear

You are not the first
You are not alone

We have always been here
We remain

How does one go on
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