in the chill

morning
still dark morning
in a bed that doesn't fit

turning
to the sofa
and the sound
through the living room wall
of a neighbour's
muffled shouts
and curses

he is alarmed
at the thought of a trip away
his mind
already fog-sodden
not able to see the very person,
the very person of his days


the curses come
violent pokes through the wall
the jagged edge
that cuts
that unleashes
a life shared

Later
in the static park
a faint sound
of birds
being bread-fed
across the frozen pond

and there
through the tangle
of bare branches
puffed up for warmth
burns a fuzzy red heart
lost in the woods
the fog

a dog barks
for its owner