The Fire Within

In this pursuit, where many might succumb,
I rise, a phoenix, from the ashes gray.
For every step feels like a beating drum,
That echoes with the life I'll seize today.

My lungs, though frail, are warriors at heart,
They fill and fall, a testament to strive.
In every breath, a work of living art,
A sign that hope and I are still alive.

Though malady may claim my flesh as due,
My spirit fights, a flame that burns still bright.
Each breath reclaimed, a victory anew,
A testament to unseen, inner might.

For in that fight, where weakness may be found,
A fiercer strength within us is unbound.

Mick McKellar
May 2024