I’ve always been fascinated with personal psychic phenomena:

horoscopes, tarot cards, mediumship,

the made up stuff that so-called psychics generalize so that the gullible believe it.

But it’s fun to see them try to get close,

to see how well they know me.

I was with some family friends over the summer, ones that I see twice a year.

People that wouldn’t really know me well.

The dry, heated air of southern California made everyone want to stay at home

in the strong breath of the air conditioner and the engulfing sofa cushions.

One of my many aunts said that she knew the basics of palm reading.

In my eyes if you know the basics of palm reading - which is a lot more than the average person - you should be able to describe me pretty well.

So I let her try and characterize me to me.

The left hand is supposed to represent “what the gods give you,”

but the list of reasons why is different throughout the world.

Her light fingers found the deep valley that curved up on my palm to be the most prominent.

To her this showed my unwavering resilience.

My ability to recover from personal pain.

My ability to learn from the past, and shape my own future.

My ability to pick myself up from the dust and dirt

and rise to the heavens.

All assumed because of one curved line etched into my skin.

But it’s so correct.

It’s crazy how the small details of a person’s being

can tell so much about them.