Winter Sleep

Don't forget to
turn on the space heater
it gets cold these nights
Close the door
to keep the heat in
Get in bed
and snuggle up
beneathe the covers
Nuzzle my chest
Fall asleep

Winter Day

Cold wind through grey skies

Rainfall turned to bitter hail

Stillness in the evening

Eye of the Moon

watching over us all

Salvation

Your warm body pressed against mine
Beneathe sheets
Hidden from everything else
In the world
A world apart from everyone
A place where 
Salvation is possible

Cold Tears, Warm Blood

The Push of Waves

Enough flesh had decayed from the head
that by the time I came across it at the beach
I could see the skull of the dead seal.

Patches of skin were gone but it largely
remained whole. I walked up to it,
curious to see such a creature up close.

I felt no sadness as I stood before it,
merely a sense of certainty at what befalls
all living things in time.

The waves rushed in and pushed the body
further up on the sand. It rolled over
and came to rest further from the water.

Wind bit my face as I pulled the hood
of my sweater over my head.
The tide inched closer by the moment.

It would not rest until it drowned my feet
or pushed me further from its touch.
In the end the ocean got what it wanted.

Company

There is a mouse in my kitchen
but I am not afraid.
He is hungry
and scurrying to remain
out of sight.
I don't wish to impose
an end to his life,
nor would I wish
an end imposed on mine
because of a desire
to sate my hunger.
I sit alone at my table
but I no longer
hear those tiny paws.
I eat in silence
and watch the steam
rise above my mug
of coffee as it dissipates
into the cold air.

Cold bruised skin.

What was the story

before the hard stop?