Ice Branches Cover My Feet Now

I went to the mall yesterday.
People looked at me with dog faces,
Basset Hounds and Dobermans,
snapping at children
and sniffing after blood.

Last night I walked into my house,
no one was there and
no one was going to be there,
except me,
and the cat.

Last night the walls laughed
and the sink gaped
a stainless steel 'o.'
They had no cuddles for me.

I turned on my computer
where usually I can forget
the ice shelf
and how cold my feet.

I found a man
twisting his wedding ring
trying to find a place in the circle
that wasn't round
so he could make a gate.

I found another man
who wanted to say naked things to me
on the phone at 1am.

But the walls kept bending
in
and out.
I could hear the sink in the kitchen,
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

and I dared not look down
at my shoeless feet.