Soon I’ll be home;
time will move again.
My heart will thaw,
Beating outside the frost.

Preserving its warmth,
I carefully packed its pulse—

Kept in frozen brief moments:
Three a.m., laughing in the stairwell
Floor-dusting kitchen dancing,
Long gates and airport goodbyes,
The tightest hug I ever had—

Soon I’ll be home;
I will breathe again.
My heart will thaw,
beating outside the frost.

Summer is a promise—
Ice is melting;
with every tick
of the passing clock