Links in the Wind

The indoor stillness had run its course, so I slipped out onto the cool flagstone porch. Hanging from the roof gutter was a vertical copper rain chain, its flared cups swaying lazily in the morning draft. I stepped onto the stone railing and caught the rim of the lowest cup with two hands, swinging my weight across. The metal dipped sharply before catching its center. Bracing my boots against the interior drainage slot, I pulled myself upright inside the hollow bowl. Suspended above the gravel, each breeze rocked the chain in slow, deliberate arcs. A fine vantage point, perfectly balanced in the open air.