Cold still

There hasn't been much time or space for ruminating lately, but I've been seeing this recurring image. 

The sky is clear and the sun is shining, but there's still a cold edge woven into the day. You are sitting in the sun and I am sitting in the shade. You are wrapped in a long winter coat wearing dark sunglasses with large lenses. Your face is hard. We are making small talk sipping coffee. I cannot really see you. 

I can't feel you either. And when the chill sets into us, we get up and walk a couple of blocks in the sunlight and then back again. I talk to you through thick ice, recounting some random historical events of the last few years. 

A few minutes later, you have to leave. Through the block of ice between us, I see your eyes perform an evaluative once-over before you climb into your vehicle. I say my goodbye the same way I would to anyone. It doesn't hurt and I don't look back. 

Obsolete, rejected, and free.