Cold, frozen chicken strips

laid across my dinner plate

as my eyes glazed with a cold solemn

How many frozen meals had I been subject to?

How many cups of instant noodles had I digested?

I decided it was enough

and I began to thaw

I applied for my first job

and began to crack at the ice wall that had imprisoned me

that had confined me

and I watched as it melted into a pool around my feet

My first paycheck came in

and my mother and I endulged in the taste

of warm, home-made grilled chicken