091816b

a summer freeze

stiffening joints may be the first indicators.

unrelieved, even in Atlanta's sun.

you may notice patches of dirty residual snow;

at first, these will be restricted to dense

subarboreal shade.

by the middle of August the snow will

carpet the north sides of buildings.

at this point your hands will be immobile claws;

even your elbows and shoulders will scarcely move,

and turning your head will mean agony.

phantom pain will engulf your useless hands

at intervals.

you will wake up one early September morning to find

snow above the windows

persisting like some outre form of ice

far outside its expected environmental range.

after this day you will not move at all,

save your darting, frantic, eyes.

A poem I wrote about the ever-present cold caused by misinterpreted signals received by the quadriplegic brain. First published in Breath and Shadow volume 2 number 2.