people were saying fuck January is stretching out
this year but I loved its cool panthery length
had been too snug for half a decade
small and cold against my HRT-altered body
chilly in the gap where the dressing gown overlaps
a v-neck full of openness to the things to come
while the humming of the communal heating system
made for a sticky pasture under the Crittall window
a snow bomb forecast chaos across the country
but the city cooks from inside so we felt no shame
judiciously weighing the loose parts of our bodies
like a stakeholder’s medium-sized store of grain
felt pleasure for the first time this year, uncompressed
vital to take walks, collect vitamins from the sun
and store them under a papery skin by arranging
the shaken body under cold light on a balcony
everything slackens honey drips from a spoon
sharp heart expanded like a smile breaks a face mask
it was nippy but I generate a compost-heap warmth