Thermal Shock

The radiator is a hollow, cold weight

and I’m already twenty minutes late.

I swung my legs out, ready to fight,

but the floorboards stole the remaining light.

It felt like stepping on a frozen lake

before the morning coffee starts to take.

My toes curled back like a dying leaf

seeking a second of heat's relief.

The landlord's promise is a thin, dry lie

while the frost begins to colonize the sky.