Freezing

In our cramped igloos of late

Shivering anger is our only move

And yet it’s a weak anger like that paleness, falsesness

Of the freezing, melting walls

We shiver as our bed fellow chills us to the bone

The sleepy paths of their bare feet beneath the covers

An aggressive reminder of the involuntary

In our chemical dreams

Our teeth fall from our mouths

Out of the blue

Abrupt complexity floods the nerves

Triggers dimensions of commotion

Puzzles which demand ordering

A reminder of the impossibility of preparation

This life business is a trying stream

Obstacles are the rule not the exception

We watch over ourselves like clouds

But also feel ourselves from within

Feel the raw panicked wounded soldier

Elaborating plans from the emergent patterns

Sometimes hearing damage in our bunkers

Sometimes divining floating hope

Let us talk without our logic holes

Talk threw our hearts

For the only way to speak is like lovers

As though to our younger selves

In the heat of crisis

As though to a fellow way-farer

Mounting the same chilly climb

The hardest thing in the world is self-control

Why else would we suspect the rulers