Ain’t got – I got

Today’s writing challenge word – pairs – was a challenge for me. It took me a while thinking about it before a song came to me – Nina Simone singing about what she ain’t got and what she’s got, and lots of those things she’s got come in pairs: “Got my arms, got my hands, Got my fingers, got my legs, Got my feet, got my toes.”

I needed to hear this song today as I’ve been feeling a kind of soul-heaviness. Despite the heaviness I feel, I need to remember what I have got, and what I have to be grateful for.

Got my hair, got my head
Got my brains, got my ears
Got my eyes, got my nose
Got my mouth, I got my smile
I got my tongue, got my chin
Got my neck, got my boobies
Got my heart, got my soul
Got my back, I got my sex

I got my arms, got my hands
Got my fingers, got my legs
Got my feet, got my toes
Got my liver, got my blood

I’ve got life, I’ve got my freedom
I’ve got life

This time last year I was suffering with a severe cough that – after several different diagnoses – turned out to be whooping cough. Remembering the physical distress I went through then – throwing up food from the force of the coughing, unable to lie down to sleep or even to move without triggering a coughing cycle, coughing until I saw spots before my eyes and heard a roaring in my ears and thought I was going to pass out – I am reminded how lucky I am to be able to breathe freely today. I promised myself I wouldn’t ever take breathing for granted again.

At the moment, I think it’s enough just to be grateful for the simple things.

Taking Nina’s example, I celebrate the things I have pairs of. I’ve got my hands, got my legs, got my feet, got my eyes, got my ears, got my lungs, got my kidneys. I’ve got breath. I’ve got life.