Cold is easy
you know where you are with it.
No lukewarm promises of what
will never come. No ghost-friend
who ignores you then tells you
through someone else
that it was your fault all along.
This is no hair toss, shoulder-shrug.
No brag in the voice of Hard-Done-By,
fishing, fishing, till everyone
is hooked. This is a cold switch off.
So you don’t think there’s a way
back in, even if you can stand the pain.
This is not a creeping chill, this is
a knife between your legs, it takes
your breath. No feigning warmth
with sugar words, cold will never
make you think you’re safe.
Gill Connors has been widely published. She is working on a third collection for publication sometime in the future. She runs online poetry workshops and swims and knits.