Antoni Ooto
 
 A Buddhist Mantra
 
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
 
Breathe in calm.
Breathe out peace.
 
Twisted in pain
my mind drifts through a fretwork scattering clouds
 
I try to count blessings, sometimes,
for a body that still wants to save me.

Antoni Ooto is a poet and flash fiction writer. His works have been published in Burning House Press, Ginger Collect, Soft Cartel, Amethyst Review, Bangor Lit Journal, Nixes Mate Review, Pilcrow & Dagger, Red Eft Review, Ink Sweat & Tears, Young Ravens Literary Review, Front Porch Review, An Upstate of Mind and Palettes & Quills. Antoni lives and works in upstate New York with his wife, writer/storyteller Judy DeCroce.