Ice In the Veins

With a silence that cut through the laughter She entered the room, bitterness Edged around her features, portraying Cruelty with an unfeeling sword of darkest Gloom, dread so dismal it feels, almost, Like grief sinking into the bones Sullenness coughing up phlegm that rots In the heart, the soul, the mind Where there is a penetrating hostility Her eyes glared at the laughing children Echoed cynicism through the air Like a poison dart piercing the heart Her hatred tasted of a sourness Only the very truthful could attest to She was hard and her icy stares forced lovers To pull away from one another, chastised By the coldness that left chills on the mind Resentment fell from her pores, sweating acidity Imploring hope to be cast aside for disaster Calamity so dreadful it was as fatal as a stab wound A trepidation so repulsive with its awfulness It feels like being in a nightmare, Terrifying When she looked at me, though… I saw through the cool, calculating gaze Into the heart where there had once lived A child of five, all giggles and smiles Alive with the joy of silliness, … I saw, beneath the ice in the veins The warmth of a heart who was living … with excruciating pain Pick-A-Title, Vol 30 - Poetry Contest Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh 1.) Ice In the Veins April 24, 2022