Cold Water

Dank glares

drip cold water

on victims’ hearts.

Another scarf unraveled..

The crestfallen,

stopped dead in their tracks,

with no way forward.

The boomerang of gossip grows,

as the flock follows the ram.

The wet wool of caustic words

proves malodorous.

Speaking of smell,

there’s an intravenous scent of fear

reeking out from the

misery of their own herd,

and from the possibility

that they may become the bullseye

for the next wave of disallowance.

Self-imagined stalking knights,

who think they have the most to gain,

imbuing the world with beefy fictions,

using hot panther breath that stalks.

Masters of disastrous,

deceitful

words on the street,

now dripping

cold sweats

from their own skin,

as well as cold water

thrown

onto their own hearts.

Linda Imbler

Linda Imbler is a Wichita, Kansas based author. 178 poetry publications have accepted work from this poet. Linda has been nominated for 2 Pushcart Prizes and 7 Best Of The Nets. In 2025, she was nominated and accepted into the Marquis Registry of Who’s Who In America for her work in poetry. She has self-published twelve poetry books. Soma Publishing has published her four e-book collections, The Sea’s Secret Song; Pairings, a hybrid of short fiction and poetry; That Fifth Element; and Per Quindecim. Examples of Linda’s poetry and a listing of publications can be found at lindaspoetryblog.blogspo.com.