Breathe
Damnit, breathe. Don't puke, now. Breathe. The Food was sloppy and poisoned but you are a rock. You are an island.
Breathe
Breathe for your footsteps, one at a time. Breathe to wake the air of its stillness. Breathe. Breathe despite the bumpy Metro. Close your eyes and breathe - is this better or worse?
Oh, I don't know, just breathe.
Breathe, you rock you island, breathe.
Steps, now, lumbering sturdy, stoice, strong. Breathe.
Walking is just you now, you have control.
Just breathe.
Breathe for how close you are now. Breathe because you're still so far away. Breathe. 
Breathe for the rituals you've lost and the traditions you've gained. Breathe.
Breathe it's the way through danger and despair.
Breathe up the steps and to your room where you Breathe you lay on your sheets you washed but did not put back on your mattress yet damnit.
Breathe it's fine. It's comfortable. Control.
Breathe.
Oh, no, breathe but maybe not oh boy if I don't get this out it'll be there for days. Oh, breathe, but don't - Puke?
Oh, I hate Puking but the waiting is the hardest part. Do I breathe? Choking doesn't do it, only retching.
I breathed too well and now the poison stays in me. 
Puke. Ugh, I want to Puke but I goddamn hate Puking. Puke. How does one Puke when you've spent your life stopping the Puke?
Puke!
Oh, I know Puke Oh think of the food. Puke.
Puke and think of the food that did this to you. Puke. Puke and stew on that lamb and chicken over rice with the all-too-creamy white sauce. Wait and Sit. And Puke. Think of the choice to get Tasty Kebab even though you knew it would end like this. Puke. Oh, Puke, here it comes!
Puke.

"Just a bit of the day I quite enjoy.
The rest I could take or leave.
What category do you wish to find yourself in, Montgomery?"

Smooth Sailing down the River Nile,
me and MY!
river gods are no compare-aye-son!
SIR! It's nice to know you're here as well.
OF COURSE, you're always here; I've
known, I mean, I can, I will - 
oh, no confidence untoward, I promise
I'm no bore.
It's up to you - the withered hope of
distance on the chords
of throats, that's drowning in the moats
of Nords and resistance players:
Suave as next of kin, they'll never
win. But give their honor back, they will!
But, still. Is that enough, I guess it's 
no choice of mine but Up - the distance
we've been trained to go.
Where will I flourish? Where be my rodeo?
I'm not alone, but hardly special yet.
I'll whine and giggle, fight like Lafayette.
But what's my battle - what's my major cause?
Where will I take my stand - deMAND! applause?
I'll calm the sorrows, rub them on the neck.
I'll weep the willows, give them tissues, yet
where will I cry?
Where will I die? For I, am not immortal,
yet not without a quick -
-ness or less that'll get me through this shtick.
Please be curried forth of inter-depths.
Please add Palak Paneer to all this mess.
Please send my follow-flower;
​release the soul power.

"I've seen some nasty things in these streets but I ain't never seen a man take a whole squeezer of honey and dump that mother all through his naked-ass, take a small can of gasoline, guzzle some and spit it back on his bawls, then make a make-shift camp-fire outta sticks and cigarette butts and shit (really takin' his time about it too), get that fire going, then have an assistant tie his honeyed-hands behind his back and sprinkle A-Grade bird seed all over the mess of himself, then he kneel his dumb-ass down to rest them gasoline bawls in the little fire, and wait to see what happen.

"I ain't never seen that shit before. Sounds like a mess."

Rick had the camera ready: low to the ground, but pointed up for exaggerated perspective on the skateboard. He was crouching next to the half-pipe but facing away from it, looking instead at the railing Jeff Carpenter was trying to get a grind on. 

Jeff kept screwing up the end of this trick where he dismounts from the rail with a kick flip, even though this should've been the easiest part. The hard part (which Jeff somehow kept nailing) was the start of the trick where he did a Japan-Air off the mound and landed on the rail one-footed to start the grind.

The park was closing and Rick had to get home soon if he wanted to edit the footage in time for Jeff's official board release the next day.

"One more shot, or we'll just have to use the stuff from yesterday. At this point, we could even just show one of the times you nailed the start and just cut away to something else at the end!" Rick laughed a bit but Jeff wouldn't look at him. Fairly unsuccessful. "All right, then. Shooting and ready when you are, Carps."

Jeff Carpenter flashed Rick his eyes then looked back at his board and exhaled. He pushed off.

He had enough speed as he hit the mound and lifted his leg off the board. Rick was right under him when Jeff planted his left foot at the top of the mound and launched himself and the board into the air with just his right foot on the board.

Damn, and he really launched this time. The landing would be harder, for sure, but Rick was worried about the shot. He wanted the perspective. He wanted to see the height Jeff was getting. He backed up a bit to get 'em both --

--And back-pedalled straight into Lupo Nunez going up for a 540 on the half-pipe. WHAM went Lupo's knee into Rick's bony butt and ZOOM flew Lupo's board straight up and off of the pipe. Rick face-planted straight into his camera which then planted straight into the concrete. Lens, screen, SD card holder: all cracked.

"You MISSED it! Jesus, Rick! You spend all day dinging my balls on this and you're out for the count as soon as I... Oh, shit, Rick - you cool?"

Groans from the ground. Rick unearth's his head from his devastated camera. It doesn't look good, but he's not bleeding.

"Damn thing, saved your face, Rick! How's the other footage?"

Rick looked down, still speechless. It was a not-so-pretty sight. He shook his head with a moan.

"Fuckers... Aight. Well, let's do what you said and use the stuff from yesterday, then. I gotta roll, man. Lupo - you alright, man?"

Lupo and Rick shat on Jeff at each other, unable to find the words. Fuming at themselves, at each other, at the stupid park, at health. Crash-landed they stayed.

"Ha! Guess y'all need a moment, then!" Jeff smiled and skated off.