Wind slices clean through the street
A straight razor dragged across the night
No warmth
No mercy
Just that thin
Vicious whistle
That knows exactly where to cut
My boots hit the pavement in a hard rhythm
Step
Strike
Echo
Repeat
A beat carved out of grit and stubbornness
Even the air feels weaponized
Each breath a shard I swallow
Because stopping would hurt worse
Your silence hangs in the dark
Like a trap I keep walking into
No sound
No tremor
Just that cold
Surgical absence
That knows how to find the softest part of me
And press down until something cracks
I used to carry heat like armor
Laughing fire
Reckless fire
The kind that made winter blink first
Now it’s a rumor in my chest
A ghost pacing behind rib
That don’t open for anyone anymore
The world around me stiffens
Hardens
Sharpens
Streetlights like needles
Shadows like blades
The whole night a toolbox
Full of things designed to break me down
But I keep moving
Not out of hope
That’s long gone
Frozen solid
But out of spite
Out of rhythm
Out of the simple refusal
To let the cold decide my shape
Every step is a strike
Every breath is a dare
Every heartbeat is a hammer
Pounding against the ice
Trying to claim me
And still
The night presses in
Tight
Relentless
A frostbit fist around everything I am
Everything feels
So cold