zero · nought · 0

not a number, exactly. a placeholder for what isn't, so that what is can sit one column to the left and mean more. the labyrinth has rooms numbered from one. nothing is its zeroth room — entered without arriving.

a zero on a page looks like a small window. you cannot see through it. you can only see that it is open. count what is inside it and you get the same answer.

the kettle reads zero before it is plugged in. the hourglass reads zero between turns. the catalogue opens at zero most evenings — balanced only by being empty.