It's the pilot light in the stove, the fireplace. It’s the night light in the bathroom, the living room. The reflection in the mirror, in the glass of my windshield. The hum of electricity, the sigh of the furnace.
What do you mean I’m supposed to go looking for something that is constant?
The conjoined twin does not go looking for its sibling. The brain does not search for the heart. The shadow always finds the body. Gravity invariably pulls the moon into orbit.
The smoldering ache of loss —hot like bubbling magma, bright like a solar flare— is always there. Lurking beneath the skin. The face behind the mask. Gnarled roots beneath the forest.
What do you mean I’m supposed to look for something that is a part of me? Assimilated to my sense of normalcy. Integrated into my DNA. I can only do so much introspection before I go insane.
write your grief prompt #12: What would it take to seek out the smoldering ache of loss?