**Poem #7 of my poem-a-day Lenten challenge**

Sometimes,
it is as simple
as taking note
of the way your
shoulders
are hunching
a little bit more
with each breath
you take,
and every exhale
offers back to the world
a little bit less.

Sometimes,
it is as hard
as letting
that high-backed
tension
roll itself
out of you,
and take with it
your pent up
air
and everything
else
that doesn’t really
belong to you
and give it all
back to the world
it came from.

If you can do that
and then say “thanks”
after,
please teach me your trick.