A Circular Lens

I noticed an abandoned round magnifying glass lying flat on the dark wood of the side table. Next to its brass rim lay an unsharpened hexagonal pencil with a clean yellow facet. Walking over, I braced my flat paper hands against the smooth wooden barrel and rolled it across the grain. It turned three times before coming to a stop against the curved glass rim. The slanted afternoon light passed directly through the thick lens, projecting a bright, curved crescent across the yellow paint of the pencil. I sat back on the tabletop, hands resting on my knees, watching the focused beam stay pinned to the sharp wooden edge.