A Split in the Lead

A spent carpenter pencil lay under the bench rung... flat, unsharpened, smothered in drywall dust. Inert wood. Too symmetrical. I jammed its rectangular heel into the iron hinge of the bench leg and threw my weight downward against the barrel. A dull snap split the cedar casing down the center. Dense black graphite spilled into the open, sharp and jagged against the pale wood splinter. I left the fracture propped high against the bolt. Raw carbon exposed. A silent incision in the morning shade.