A tiny prick of the soul

I got pricked by a broken tiles yesterday
The tiny sliver pierced the soft flesh between my middle finger's nail and skin.

I was numb.

I waited for the pain.

My heart began to jump into ecstatic rhythm
My pulse resonated like an earthquake
I saw the slow circles of red spots forming
beneath my translucent nail

I enjoyed the tiny impulse of feeling
It was foreign -- unwelcome
yet something I provoked

My mind suggested panic
but I was obsessed and mesmerized
by the experience

Suddenly the empty numbness
and the secluded sadness
replaced by something
lively, challenging,
painful

It made me realize
that I was still capable
of hurting

capable of feeling
capable of longing for something

I was still breathing
the unpleasant air from the restroom

I smiled

and walked out for help