A Sigh Of Relief

from The Valley Is Not Your Home by Janelle Maree

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.

Purchasable with gift card

name your price
Buy the Full Digital Album

lyrics

Your love reminds me
I can keep going,
that I should keep going.
I have so much to remind me of that
but sometimes
that feels distant or untrue.
So I find myself sinking into the earth,
being swallowed by the quicksand,
overwhelmed by the darkness,
haunted by the loneliness.
forgetting how to breathe,
weighted down from fear,
shoes made from cement,
buried by hopelessness,
a gift from depression.
Your love reminds me
to fight to reach the air,
to burst out of the ground.
You take my hands,
you pull me out.
I gasp like a newborn
tasting air for the very first time.
I cling to oxygen.
It feels precious now.
Your love reminds me
to gather it in my lungs,
to breathe it in
and let it out
even when it aches,
especially when it aches,
even when I have to demand myself to do it.
You remind my lungs to move.
You tell me to be greedy
with every breath,
to save some for later,
to hoard it,
savor it,
be grateful for it.
You remind me
that I have so much here to fight for.
Loving you feels effortless
and so little feels that way lately.
Loving you feels soothing.
It feels simple.
It’s a relief.
It feels natural.
It feels like my body knowing how to breathe
without every needing reminding.
It feels like both feet planted on stable ground,
the way it should be.
I promise to do the same for you,
to love you just as deeply.
I promise my love
will keep you far from hopelessness’ reach.
I will remind you how to breathe.

credits

from The Valley Is Not Your Home, released February 24, 2019

license

about

Janelle Maree California, Maryland

27 year old poet, special education para-educator, Netflix enthusiast, devoted daughter, sister and friend. You can always find me either singing Disney songs, laughing loudly or talking about hope.