05/27/2026
Every evening. Same ritual.
Trim the wick just so.
Strike the match.
Watch the flame catch.
Set the glass chimney down slow.
She'd done it a thousand times.
Never once thought twice about it.
That lamp was the only light
in the whole house.
And the whole family
pulled their chairs toward it.
Before the switch.
Before any of it —
there was her.
And the flame she kept burning.
What do you know about
the women who lit the lamps
in your family?