how to be

you teach me
with each 
misunderstanding

how to breathe
how to listen
how to be

you tell me
with each
hellish word

how to let go
how to conform
how to be

you reach me
with each
conversation

how to wait
how to remember
how to be

tamped down
held down
calmed down

all in the same day
but never in 
the same way

leaving me
to reconstruct myself
forever learning

how to be

(fade)