half-light

after pulling my hair back tight
I lace my boots, my ankles sturdy

the people I love have been awake for hours on the east coast
I’m waking up at moonset
pre-sun, hungry for something
California feeds me—: 

alone, I hike up carved crests
I don’t stop for anything

ravens caw and linger at the yarrow
poppies slowly unfurl their petals 
bending towards sun peeking over the ridge
tule elk graze in the hip high meadow

not me—: 
I trudge forward until majesty greets me
2500 feet above the sea I’m straddling the cloudline 
commanding the fog

when I was young, 
my most ethereal moments
were spent alone

so I hike hushed slopes
keeping pace, counting the dips of my thumping heart

I wish I was a girl again: 
unbroken soul full like ambered honey
buzzing beauty
infinite breath

I place my hands on the soil when I summit
bare and wild with wonder

I want to be above it all
just a few moments longer

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About the author
Lauren Fedorko, M.Ed., is an Adjunct Professor of writing at Rutgers University, teaches AP and Honors high school English, and advises a creative writing club for her students. Her passion for writing is longstanding and ongoing, composed mostly of poetry and creative non-fiction. She enjoys exploring, good company, and traveling the world every chance she gets. Her work has previously been published in the Kelsey Review and The Philadelphia Inquirer.