Radiators
Just as winter was beginning to appear – crisping up the lawns and silvering the thickets
I heard the asthmatic wheeze from the airing cupboard;a splutter like sea water, and then nothing
but sharp cracks as the radiators suddenly cooled;warmth dropping, like an expired star, from the ceiling
until it was gone, and the house felt emptier and bigger.In the tea-bleached bedroom light,
we huddled clothed beneath the duvet, stealing each other’s heat. He whispered something about dinner;
his words like lavender and wheat germ at the nape of my neck,and I wanted to feel more of them –
soft consonants and long vowels as my world was reducedto a bed-sized island, and I drifted somewhere warmer.
Thank you for reading,Lara