The Right to Breathe

 

 

Haven’t we all-

I mean, the right to breathe?

But sometimes I really wonder

And become so aggrieved.

 

Have you ever awakened

To the air clean and fresh

And within a matter of minutes

The atmosphere is a mess?

 

Or, there’s a cool night wind

Blowing through your bedroom

When suddenly, a scorching smell

Brings an air of doom?

 

Breathing becomes difficult

So, you slam the window shut!

Of course, the offender is up wind

But down wind is out of luck.

 

And this is not a one-off thing,

It happens more often than not

And your right to breathe

Is seriously blocked.

 

To breathe becomes poisonous

For to continue you would die

But you really can’t stop breathing

Even when clean air is denied.

 

Who gives someone, anyone,

Such unrestricted authority

To stop another from breathing

While living in a community?

 

I know this appears far-fetched

Like a tempest in a teacup

But you infringe upon someone’s right

Every time that you light up.

 

It is one’s right to live

Within the comfort of his home

And to breathe in wholesome air

Whether in company or alone.

 

Haven’t I the right to breathe

Just like you breathe?

Why must you contaminate the air

That we both need…

 

Making it difficult for another

That is located downwind from you

As though clean, fresh air

Is only your right and your due?

 

The right to breathe

Is a right that’s been given by God

Who, by His great mercy and grace,

Has given of His breath to all.

 

Stewart Russell © June 26, 2023