Lake Mendota

Lake Mendota frozen solid
January swallowing the shoreline
You said winter always made you quieter
I think that's when I started losing you
Streetlights reflecting through the ice
Like old messages I still can't delete
Everything preserved underneath the surface
Cold enough to survive forever

I still drive there sometimes
Park near the empty boat docks
Sit inside the car with the heat running
Listening to the same songs we used to love
Back before conversations became careful
Back before every silence felt dangerous

Lake Mendota
Holding every version of us beneath the ice
The laughing one
The angry one
The one that almost made it

The wind moved across the water tonight
Sounding like somebody whispering my name
And for one stupid second I thought maybe you'd come back

But winter keeps what it touches
And so do I