Hoarbourne

The way the air was stained
With sooty carbon
And how warm your cheek
Was pressed against mine

As we talked, on a bench
Reminescing at midnight

The way the lamps danced
As reflections in the lake
And how every person passed
Thought we were out on a date

Something about
How cold it was

As the hands of winter
Reached out with skinny,
Slender fingers to choke
The last life from summer

Clear so the sun would shine
But the air would move
And pierce so fine as
Icicles mounted like bayonets

And every assault that crossed
My palm and into yours
Gave me goosebumps the burst
Of ice would sustain

As I contemplated
This refrain

This domain of pain
Where guard is up
And I’m willfully here
At the foyer of a palace

Where uncertainy reigns
And it rains only at night
Because the ruler of frost
Only rules at day

The way

Those mornings and evenings
In deathly meadows
And rising heat
From the ground our feet

Tread upon

Are all stuck with me, crisp
As the dew that crystalized
Over tall grass and
Dead leaf litter

The way lips felt
Kissing your cheek
And how warm it felt
When I was uncertain