Cardboard and Cold

The fluorescent lights buzzed, a flicker of dread,

the phone buzzed twice, and the world filled with red.

Smelling like cardboard, the freezer’s chill sting,

the message dropped heavy, my heart in a sling.

He thought it was easy, a clean break of words,

while I stacked the groceries, drowning in herds.

With each silent beep, my world fell apart,

like frost on the windows, cold grasped at my heart.