i carried them in my pocket

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