Thermostat
The bedroom heater whirred
till, reaching its set
temperature,
it cut out.
He woke to leg pain.
She was crying again,
quietly so as not
to disturb him.
The two dogs on their beds
nearby also stirred,
one whimpered -
some doggy dream.
He, though always there,
knew what broke her was
her solitude,
her loneliness.
His hand reached her shoulder,
she answered his touch,
a sort of company,
if not much.
The bedroom heater
registered a drop
in temperature,
and whirred again,
warming all four
in the room
till reaching its
regulated stop.
|