A Blinking Glow by Kimberly A. Phinney

I am still searching
for that something
inside of me
(outside of me)
where it has been said
I will find a better self—
a Lighthouse.
That blinking glow in the night,
where roaring waves collide
and sailors lost at sea
find higher ground—
a Rock.
That cool, hard terrain
where turbulence no longer stalks
the ancient mariner,
where there are no more salty tears
or winged harbingers,
no more dogged days
where stars rush out
to mirthless dark—
but just a mark
crossed on a map
(a blinking glow)
where ship-wrecked souls
can go
and stay
a little
while.

Kimberly is a wife, mother, writer, and photographer. But most importantly, she is a child of God. After a health crisis and near-death experience in 2021, Kimberly learned to find God in the hardest places and hopes to use her story to help others through her writing and service. She has her M.Ed. in English and is an AP English teacher and department head at a private school in Tampa, FL. She recently started her doctorate in counseling and community care and has been published in several literary journals and magazines, as well as around the web in poetry and nonfiction. Currently, she is working on a poetry chapbook and a book on parenting and education. In her free time, she loves to garden with her daughter, drink strong coffee with her husband, and read heaps of books—particularly the Bible and The Great Gatsby—over and over again. You can find her at www.PhinneyPhotography.com and https://www.instagram.com/phinneyphotography/.