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Arii 3d
It’s usually said
That your fingers go numb first.
That the cold gets to your hands even through layers upon layers of thick cloth that are meant to protect it.
That you can’t tightly grab onto a lifeline when you freeze to death,
Unlike how you would in any other near-death scenario.

Next is your toes,
Your feet follow your hands, losing the feeling in them.
It’s funny, in the way that one of the first things you learn in life is to crawl and walk,
And when you’re on your knees in front of death, you lose the ability to do so.

The next to go is your ears,
They go numb too, making the world sound muffled like it’s underwater.
No hearing people screaming your name as you succumb to the cold,
Only silence in the path to the end.

Your nose goes next,
Feeling like it’s turned to ice or stone,
Smells become distantly unknown,
Only a little into freezing over.

Next are your cheeks—the rest of your face.
Red from the chill as they would in the heat
Except the cold is much more merciful in killing off your nerves before it does you.
It’s a plausible question,
Whether it hurts to smile more because your face throbs or because you’re drowning in your demise.

And then goes your chin.
It’s hard to communicate when you’re dying,
Less so to call for help,
And more so to say goodbye to everything you know.
It’s going to happen eventually,
And when it happens, you can’t guarantee you’ll be able to say goodbye,
Or even want to in the first place.
another random write from yesterday
Iha May 31
"Have you ever been depressed?"
(she questioned)
Lying on her lap, fingers snap and tap,
Thumbs beat like drums, lost in monochromatic numbs.

"Side effects of the pandemic"
(she laughed)
Teens with their trauma, entwined with karma,
Does depression have one S or two?
Like spelling it right makes it less true.

"Have you ever been depressed?"
(she sighed)
History which couldn't hide, traces left, of what time had dyed,
Echoes of memories, lost, drifting like leaves, forever tossed.

"Sometimes you forget,"
(she softened)
A slurring voice, back in the club's heavy noise,
Not every ache is the dreaded cry, yet what’s the point in asking why?
******* those heels and let the makeup get you by.

"Have you ever been depressed?"
(she cried)
Every laugh's taxed, the smile lines waxed,
Joy's inflation, making me starve, in a world of elation.

"It’s not that deep,"
(she hissed)
You think too much, your coffee's gone cold.
Do I (you) dream, or do I (you) dare?
People wish they had my (your) share.

I'm (You're) fine.
I'm (You're) here.
I'm (You’re) breathing air.

"Have you ever been depressed?"
(silence)
A flatline's ring, a ghostly sting,
No icebergs roam, just foam and loam.

"No one throws the raft you see,"
(she spit)
For a ship that’s sunk, down with a clunk,
Life's a cruel parody, why expect rescue for this tragedy?

Cutting off what's meant to be, such is the selfish strategy.
How i hate those (you's) but still love you is forever a mystery darlin
Spicy Digits Jun 10
Hello morning dew,
Hello hot tea,
Sweet pigeon chats,
Atop lemon tree.
Feet to keep warm.
Ears to hear the purrs.
Hello slow writings
Of song and whispers.
Good morning sun,
Miss you moon,
Hello smiling mirror
Hello winter cocoon.
O heart, soul, core, me:
If I do exist,
I am exactly pristine in condition
Under the surface of a pond
Frozen in eternal ice.

O want, wish, will, dream:
The ice that denies life,
Sapping its oppressive strength,
Transforming its innocent weakness;
Making brittle the bold,
Making hard the soft.

O form, frame, flesh, face:
The palm of my hand
Is spread against the bottom of the ice,
Reaching up as though to grasp
All the nothing I aspire to.
how cold is the beauty and perfection of appearance
Kiki Jun 3
Asked her

   "Whatever?
    Whenever?
    Wherever?
    Forever"


She­ said

   "Never"
Guess her name
Dan Speers May 27
They came and took the dog away today
and they’re going to put it to sleep
because it barked, they say.
A lady dropped a dime in the checkout line
and no one stooped to pick it up.
She shrugged and said, “It’s just a dime.”
An old man on the bench in the park watched a kid run about,
tossing peanuts to the pigeons. The old man grinned
and waved and nodded and someone called the cops to check him out.

Some teens made a giggling trip to the mall
during the day, a school day, to shop for jeans.
In the food court they had burgers and a malt.
A woman in a minivan hurried into the grocery lot.
She never gave it a thought as she parked,
ignoring the sign for the handicapped spot.
An elderly lady sat in the library with a permanent pout,
not reading her book. She fell asleep and passed away
and for a day, a very long day, no one came to check her out.

They came and took the dog away today.
The veggie stand sold the last of the corn.
Winter came and took the leaves away.
Somewhere, someone was popping popcorn,
the smell hanging in the air like bacon frying
and in the hospital, another baby was born.
On the news they said an icy patch ended the lives and ride
of this drunken man and the girl whose car he hit.
We lit a fire today. It was cold, so very cold. Outside.
*So Very Cold Outside first published in Margie,
The American Journal of Poetry, vol. 5. 2006.
Ali Hassan May 17
A flame once thrived on outer heat,
In comfort’s arms, its life complete.
It danced on winds, so wild, so free,
Unknowing warmth could ever flee.

It never learned to guard its core,
Believed the warmth would ever pour
The world had fed its every spark,
And lit its path through every dark

But one still day, the skies turned gray,
The winds grew cold and pulled away
The warmth it knew slipped out of sight,
And left the flame to face the night

It gasped for warmth, for hands, for light,
But frost had chained its wings in flight
Its hues grew pale, its spark withdrew,
A golden heart turned cold and blue

It tried to shout, but none replied,
No flame to spark, no light to guide
It fought to burn but lost the fight,
Now flickered weak in ash and night

Deep in the dark, a whisper grew,
A hidden beat no one once knew
A memory kept, by heart it's known,
A spark that glows when all alone.

In that silence, a spark was born,
A brand-new blaze, untouched, untorn.
No sun, no wind could feed its flame,
It burned alone untamed, aflame.

It shed the wish for borrowed light,
And made its warmth against the night.
Not just to live, but to ignite,
And turn the freeze to glowing white

The cold around began to shift,
Its biting edge began to lift.
The flame, now still but burning deep,
Had taught the dark itself to weep.

And as the frost began to fade,
A dance of light and shadow played.
For even in the coldest night,
The smallest flame can birth the light.
I know the sun will rise at dawn,  
But not the paths my feet will drawn.  

I know the words, yet not their weight,  
Nor how they’ll twist or seal my fate.  

I know the sea, its waves so wide,  
But not the depths where secrets hide.  

I know the seed, but not the tree,  
Or what its branches yet may be.  

I know the start, but not the end,  
A fleeting thought I can’t defend.  

I know enough to humbly say—  
The more I learn, the less I know each day.
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