A Word for Living Creatures

Breath: pause,
caesura, a break,
the skip of a beat,
your beat, the one
I used to know.

Another breath:
trying to breathe
alone, the stench
of the alley, or
the homeless man
drifting closer,
Hey, pretty girl,
alone again, maybe,
maybe not -
a jab
to the ribs,
solar plexus,
a knife slid
in, then out,
not leaving
a mark, only
a small pucker,
a little blood.

Or, breathlessness:
almost seeing
your slim form,
its shadow, hearing
the familiar laugh
and wondering -
breathe, breath
broken, caesura,
a long pause,
another beat.