They tell me there are three things I need to survive:

food, water, shelter.

 

I think, though, that truly

what I cannot live without is something I’ve always had

something that I latched onto

when I was at my lowest

and something that I celebrated with

when I was at my highest.

 

An intrinsic beat within my heart

A primal movement within my veins

The words forming rhymes

The rhymes forming rhythms

The coexistence of humanity within me

forming the only thing that can unite all of us

Seven billion hearts beating in time

Fourteen billion feet tapping

tapping

Tapping.

 

Tribal drums meeting synthesized chords

Electric guitars meshing with grand pianos

Vocalists singing for the muted masses

Melodic lines that haunt the mind

like depression and anxiety haunt so many

leaving behind echoes of happier times

and reminding us that this, too,

shall pass.

 

Unequivocally, the thing I need most

is the thing that has saved me

more times than God can count:

music.