Paper Cranes and Promises

A lamp flickers to life 
The clock strikes four 
Her fingers crease the crisp paper 
Flipping and folding 
Losing herself in the certainty 
A head, a wing, 
A sure tug and the crane comes to life 
Floating gently 
To stand by hundreds of companions 
Made over the course of dozens 
Of late nights and troubled thoughts 
They promised her when she was little 
"A wish for a thousand cranes" 
How many times has she tried? 
Birds of every color 
Folded from printer paper, Post-it notes, 
Scraps of every shade 
And when she reaches a thousand, 
They fly off to find her dreams 
She imagines them 
Lifting her out of the pit of darkness 
In which she finds herself trapped too often 
She imagines them 
Hoisting her to the heavens 
To rest among the clouds 
Or soar in the sky 
Until her paper creations fail 
And she plummets back to earth 
To reality and hopelessness 
Because even magic has an expiration date 
And in the darkness 
She cries 
Her tears lost in the midst 
Of a thousand paper cranes 
And a million broken promises