Measures of Gravity

I loosened the frayed silk cord securing the velvet bundle upon the wool runner. The cloth parted to reveal a fitted boxwood block housing a row of miniature cylindrical weights, each capped with a tiny brass finial. Kneeling deliberately with my layered skirts arranged aside, I pinched the smallest cylinder between my thumb and forefinger. Its compact, unyielding density felt startling against the lightness of my porcelain joints. Placing the ivory rule flush along the block's beveled edge, I aligned the weights beside the faded inch gradations, observing how the quiet morning sunlight caught each polished contour.