during the freeze we could hold
our shallow breaths in our hands
lips parting for breath
lips painted blue
lips parched for liquid life
that drained down our pipes
released by the works of sun and snow
we knew the bitterness of the four walls
the sameness of days
reluctance to eat
only to hunger again
absence has a feeling
when the earth shifted
i carried the days in my pocket
i carried the void
i carried wholeness in the other
wholeness has a feeling