lighthouse

And it was almost like a thin lined reminder

Raised a near invisible inch above the flesh of her

A tribute to her humanity, she felt warmth of life stuff in currents through her veins below

Beneath the origami paper thin webbed as if by a spider so easily broken by the slightest bend of a fingertip, the slightest increase in pressure

Almost immeasurable
Nearly undetectable

She thought of this often, the power entrusted in her entirely undeserving hands

Her fingers shook too violently, as tremorous as aspen sometimes
And it was during the earthquakes she was reminded of it, the searing release

She knew now the chemical equation that was missing from her, the adrenaline and endorphins that calmed her shaking hands like the warm breath of a mother stroking the hair above her ear

And she remembered it, as distant a memory as it was now, fogged and creased around the edges as a wallet sized photo kept in a jacket pocket too long, crushed beneath receipts and spilled chewing gum

But it was there, still, she realized
A partially obscured lighthouse beacon and sometimes she felt herself running towards the crags of the rocks it stood upon instead of obeying the warning it screamed

And she sometimes felt she craved sharp edges more than she needed the gentle ebb of the sea