I watch the ice melt, like a surgeon studies a patient,
with silent calculation and fascination

From ice, to water
slowly forming a puddle below

I look closely and examine the drops
like tears falling silently
into a pool
forming a lake
becoming the sea

Why so much water?
Where did all that melting ice come from?

My mild curiosity takes it no further

And days pass
and then weeks
and then a year
or maybe two

I study the ice again like a captain examines his ship
looking for cracks
scrutinizing every bolt for potentially fatal wear

I don't often wonder how the ice got there
only that it is
and so it must be studied
examined
understood
analyzed

One day
I look in the mirror
and realized my lashes are covered with icicles
the air I breathe is frosty
my fingers are numb
and my heart
if I could see it
I know is covered in ice

Fascinating.
It must be studied
examined
understood
analyzed

I don't often wonder how the ice got there
but today I wonder
I examine to drops melting down my face
like tears falling silently
into a pool
forming a lake
becoming the sea

Why so much water?
Why have I not been able to feel the cold?
How did the ice get there
and will I ever understand?

I'm melting
and it's about time