COLD ROOM

Cold room, one light, no applause
Cold room, bare walls, open scars
I warmed these hands on the work I knew
Whole life started in a cold room

One folding chair by a fogged-up pane
Space heater clicked, then it quit again
Coat stayed on while I drew that plan
Breath made clouds over both my hands
Neighbor upstairs had the television loud
Somebody winning in front of a crowd
I had noodles, two forks, one bowl
One for the hunger, one for the goal
Landlord note curled under the door
Seven red words and a date on four
I turned it over, wrote numbers behind
Made that warning part of the design

No heat, still fire
No crowd, still choir
No proof, still true
The room stayed cold — I didn't have to

Cold room, one light, no applause
Cold room, bare walls, open scars
I warmed these hands on the work I knew
Whole life started in a cold room

Years later, key in a warmer place
Windows sealed and a wider space
I bought new chairs, but I kept that one
Scratches beneath where the bolts came undone
They call it humble when the story ends
It wasn't humble when I lived in it
Cold has a language the skin remembers
It taught me which flame survives December
Now when the heat runs all through the night
I leave one lamp in the hallway bright
Not for the people who doubted the view
For whoever is building in a cold room too

The room did not believe in me.
The room did not hate me either.
It was empty.
So I decided
what it would witness.

Cold room, one light, now the doors stay wide
Cold room, that winter kept me alive
I warmed these hands, then I carried it through
Whole team started in a cold room

Keep the light.

Keep the light.