Beating the Odds

What I didn’t know before
was how unlikely it is to be alive right now.
Mel Robbins says the odds we are born are one in four trillion.
Dr Ali Binazir says the odds we exist at all are basically zero.
I figure these odds
should come with some sort of gratitude
a celebration perhaps
I could say that we ought to be more thankful
to stop and smell the coffee and the roses and the four trillion other metaphors
we use to tell each other
to breathe.
But really
sometimes beating the odds
causes my heart to tremble in my chest
my feet are dirty and my toenails are cracked
the coffee burns my mouth
the roses die too quickly
asleep in their beds
the weight of the world is so much
I have to drag my breath in with aching fingers and a dry tongue.
So sometimes
I think beating the odds
looks like sitting in the dark
not to see the stars
or hope for the morning
or fulfill a Mark Frost prophecy
but to sit in the dark
and let myself
be.

By Hailey McMichael

Biography:

Hailey McMichael is a current senior at Muhlenberg College, studying English and Dance with a passion for creation through choreography and poetry. She hopes to continue to work in a creative field post-graduation, as well as moving into the field of education. Hailey has lived in many different states around the country, and continues to travel in search of truths… and she continually finds her heart searching for more stories to share. Her Instagram is @haileyj16