i’m new to the polyamorous thing so i’m getting to experience the really strange set of conditions where i’m still in a healthy and loving relationship while also just got my heart broken by somebody who doesn’t respect my feelings. whiplash. strange to not be associating the latter experience with being single, also strange to have to parse those different feelings out
chasing a mouthful of kratom orange juice with a swig of ginger kombucha, wondering what i’ve become as i whisper “better living through chemistry” to my cat
i used to wait at wet bus stops in the mornings, on underpaid drivers in undermaintained buses that were always too early, or late. feet soaked to the bone at the end of the day, sloshed by melted snow in brown gutter puddles. going to work under grey skies never cold enough for romantic blankets of white and holding coffee never hot enough to warm me up.
i remember thinking of a fresh start, staring out the door of a store i knew every inch of. down the barrel of another winter of wet feet and sore bones like most of the previous ten. i knew it was time to go, and i was on my way.
i still get cold in winter, but it’s different here. the snow settles in layers outside my window and for a moment it’s firm to the touch. my life is different; it still gets cold sometimes but i don’t feel it slipping through my fingers anymore. everything’s become more solid. i know it’s not the places that made things one way or the other- just a change of backdrop and a revolving cast of new decisions. but maybe different winters are enough to make different lives.