Fists clenched
over chest
into summer heat.

Breathless.

Chest tightening and tightening.
I thought I was dying.

So yes, I ran,
climbing backyard fences
all thought wired to my wheezing chest.

She was quartering tomatoes in the yard,
too involved in her work to observe her lanky
child drawing in oxygen
she so easily breathed.

Hot tea
was her remedy
and simply waiting it out,
which was to set a deadly precedent.