Kinetic Arc

Five black wooden domino tiles lay spilled on the floor beside the coffee table. Instead of stacking them away, I stood them upright on their narrow ends, spacing each exactly one inch apart in a curve. The timber stood rigid on the flat grain. Stepping to the flank of the lead tile, I lifted my small blade and tapped the top edge with the flat of the steel. The momentum carried forward. Four crisp, wooden strikes echoed in rapid sequence as each block drove the next down, settling flat against the planking in an unbroken arc. The movement was clean.