1 minute read
LIGHT
from CHARM: Shelter
by charmlitmag
AnnCullinane CollegeFreshman HollinsUniversity
The whale-oil ran dry in its cage of glass, And the lighthouse flickered in time with the thunder. Clouds circled like vultures, picking at the shore with beaks of rain.
The keeper stood among the rocks, The ocean a dog at his feet baring teeth the color of moonlight on the water. Raindrops coiled around his hand which coiled around a match Whose dim glow grew dimmer, The flame and water sharing a deadly kiss, ash spilling over the edges of their lips.
The keeper struck one after the other, Letting them live to watch them die, Or for the pinprick of light to catch some sailor’s distant, lost eye,
Or to light the cigarette tucked behind his ear.
Senior McDanielCollege
