Our bodies warm the room together
by Christian McCusker

The cold comes in from outside
so one of the students stands up
to close the window, to stop the draft.
We all agree this should be done.

In the classroom, we sit cross-legged
and we face the center of the circle
and we sit shoulder to shoulder
and we talk things over.

Like molecules of gas compressed
together we excite each other.
We give our energy to our neighbors
and our neighbors return the favor.

And we hardly even notice the way
our bodies warm the room together,
the way our heat sweats and swells.
Outside, the passersby look in and shiver

watching as we slowly shed
our jackets and coats, our cold-weather clothes.
We roll up our sleeves and make plans.
Soon, we’ll need a bigger room.

Christian McCusker was born and raised in New York City, where he attended Stuyvesant High School. He is currently a literature student at the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara.