Still Here, Standing

The sunrise had the audacity
to be beautiful
and I let it

I open the blinds like a surgeon
slow
deliberate
letting light into the room
where I've been working on myself

dust motes drift through the beam
unhurried
they don't know what day it is
I envy that

coffee brews in the kitchen
the smell reaches me before the sound stops
small comfort
the kind I've learned not to apologize for

I breathe
like I'm testing whether it still works
it does

morning moves across the floor
I watch it come
no armor
no plan
just the fact of my body
in the path of it

the light lands on my skin
and stays
the way kindness does
when you're not braced for it

I am still here
that's not nothing
that's the whole thing

--Vera