ice.

my fingers are raw, red, cold, sore.
i stood outside smoking cigarettes.  it's still snowing just a bit.  there's another storm moving in tonight.  work has been called off for tomorrow.  i'll sleep.
but when i was standing outside and my skin was breaking, i was watching icicles hanging over the doorway.
i wanted to catch that exact moment when the droplets of water dripping from the ends would freeze over.  they have to freeze just like that, right there, in some moment, but does anyone ever see it?  does anyone capture that one second in time when the spears of ice become just a bit longer, more deadly?
i wanted to wait, but the tea on the stove top was boiling, whistling.
i wonder if i walked away just before it happened.  maybe if i had held out, i would have seen it.  the water could have used to be hotter, anyway.
i think i tend to walk away just before beautiful things take shape too often.
it's just that there's always something warmer waiting behind the door.