frigid

cold-natured
hard to thaw
ice water in your veins

all monikers he placed on me
but

it was   his touch   that started winter storm to form in my soul
it was   his kiss   that turned my lips frostbite blue

it was    his jack frost like nature   that caused the cold breath
to seep from my dry, moist-free lips

he    was supposed to be    the thermal blanket
wrapped   tightly around    shoulders and arms needing heat

he   was supposed to    shield me, melt me, warm me    through the night

he   was supposed to be    the spring    bringing thaw
to my winter-weary mind    frozen hard
by years of blizzard conditions    and    black ice moments

he was supposed to melt the winter snow accumulations thick
inside my heart breaking ice barriers down so
i would be cold
no more

Angela Jackson-Brown is an English Professor at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. She graduated from Troy University in Troy, AL; Auburn University in Auburn AL; and Spalding University in Louisville, KY where she received an MFA in Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in literary journals, such as: Pet Milk, New Southerner Literary Magazine, The Louisville Review and Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal. Her short story, “Girl, Too” is forthcoming in the September 2012 issue of Blue Lake Review. She has presented her fiction and poetry at events like the 2009 Limestone Dust Poetry Festival and the 2009 Southern Women Writers Conference. Her short story, “Something in the Wash” was awarded the 2009 fiction prize by New Southerner Literary Magazine and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Fiction

Tagged poetry