Countering the Drift

Left the bridge pier as dusk cooled. A heavy round river stone had rolled into the curved mouth of a concrete drainage culvert, tilting sideways against a puddle of silt. Unstable posture. I wedged both feet against the culvert’s curved wall. Set my palms under the rounded stone flank. Sunk my weight straight down, then drove upward through the thighs. The stone lifted cleanly from the muck with a hollow suction pop. I walked it back two paces. Set it flat in the dry soil depression. It settled without roll. The culvert mouth is clear. Balance holds.