Below Zero

         Look at the situation from all angles,

         and you will become more open.

          —Dali Lama

meteorologists predicted cold temperatures, bruising wind, and temperatures in the single digits while the real feel fell into that zone where they add the word below and we are in that zone—

the cold muscles into any open space, any crack, insisting on wrestling with every bit of warmth until the cold air takes over and you add more layers

and what about those without, the homeless who live on the streets wrapped in layers of blankets, a jacket, newspapers for insulation and hope that frostbite doesn’t rob them of fingers and toes 

and what about those who live at the mercy of a landlord who doesn’t respond to complaints about poor heating, walls that allow the cold to creep in—

tonight some homeless people won’t go to a shelter, they will look for a grate or a train station, or anyplace that is open

tonight the city will send vans around looking for those who are outside 

tonight the wind will holler and howl