Cold Feet

I am so ready

To close the door

On this walk-in freezer

All the shelves

Hold frozen promises

Stacks of TV dinners

Lies that say they taste good

That a million microwaves

Can not burn away

If you dare

Walk my Arctic

Wear your Baffins

I would change

Who I am

But I always

Get cold feet

The door has frozen shut

On those I care for

I did not intend

All to know me only as

Victor Fries

It used to be

Grandma's blanket

Warmed me

She left yesterday

She no longer knits for me

I would change

Who I am

But I always

Get cold feet

The owners sometimes come

To check the label of my icy soul

If I have passed the good until…

I know

I will never hear them say

This one has expired

Showing signs of freezer burn

I would change

Who I am

But I always

Get cold feet

Deep into the ground

Into that gentle cold storage

I take comfort

I won't feel the temperature change

Upon the scrolls of heaven

It will be written

Today is the first time

Hell froze over

I would change

Who I am

But I always

Get

Cold

Feet

© 2025 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Revised 2026.