Meridian: Birthday

Illuminated on the basement staircase on my 24th birthday. Trying to claw my way out of a dark hole. This is where I would sit, watching my mom do the laundry, listening to my dad tinkering away in his workshop, or feeling his presence as he read sci-fi novels at his desk. As a child, he would let me hammer nails into wood for fun. He could fix or build anything. I remember the hum of the dryer, and Antiques Roadshow playing in the background.