April 11, 2023

ecstatical

is what Linda called it, on the voicemail she left to give me the good news. 
The math had seesawed in my favor, because Linda, the full-service tax specialist 
had done something incredible. I could hear the delight in her message, a giddiness 
that took me back to the spelling tests from second grade and Mrs. Carlson’s 
ebullient script dancing across the pages. For nearly a week, I’ve been swimming 
in what Linda said, pointing my nose wherever the chances look slim and seeing inside, 
or beyond, where some pale fire is just kicking in, discovering its sea legs. 
All around, in fact, life seems to be crackling awake. Or else it’s been here this whole time,
but needs the Lindas of the world to turn the tide, weave their fingers through the murk,
and tell you it’s going to be okay, in words you could never have understood until now.