by Mercedes Rodriguez

1.

The apartment is dangerously cold at night.
The hearth is a perimeter too far from my body.
I’ve taken to freezing a glass of milk before bed
And using it as a doorstopper.


2.

Some days, the heat tickles my toes. Others,
I’m peering through a crack, half-expecting
The neighbor’s nativity scene to come alive—
How long is too long when conspiring?


3.

After saying yes to a sleepover, I wake to a lover
Carelessly making his way to the bathroom.
He reassures me he’s not an angry drunk.
I never told him to pack a pair of slippers.

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Mercedes Rodriguez is a poet from Los Angeles, CA. They are an MFA poetry candidate at North Carolina State University.