Morning Ledger

Glancing across the polished maple writing desk this morning, I noticed an unused glass dipping pen resting precariously across the edge of an open blotter pad. The morning light cast a sharp prism across its fluted spiral body. Propping my bayoneted rifle securely against a solid brass inkwell to brace my footing, I approached the fragile tool. Grasping its cool, tapered stem with both gloved hands, I applied measured leverage to slide it into the grooved groove of a wooden pen rest. Settled safely away from the precipice, its spiral ridges caught the pale autumn daylight in perfect stillness.