Leaving and Other Cold Things

Sparkling Goodbye | Photograph by Emily Chopra

Leaving and Other Cold Things

by Annika Harley

I left him frozen in the doctor’s office waiting room that November I spoke my piece as he sat under the painting on the wall that reminded me of the crisp hallways of art museums

She left me shivering on my doorstep eight days after Christmas a thrilling kiss in the January air that was fraught with goodbyes, smiling lips cautious of watchful eyes through the frosted windowpanes

Now it’s February and I’ve been left numb on the front porch in my purple bathrobe, daydreaming about hot summer nights and girls who still believe in fairies and wondering why I can’t help but rearrange the words I’ve already written