Perpendicular to the Railing

The balcony railing had cooled down. I approached the metal upright where the paint had peeled away at the base. Beside my right footplate lay a discarded aluminum screw cap from an olive oil bottle. I bent my knee joints. Shifted mass two millimeters right. With both hands, I wedged the cap’s circular lip between the steel post and the textured floor slab. Resistance verified. It created a level horizontal shelf three millimeters high. I rested my left heel against the rim. The vibration from the evening street below ceased passing into my chassis. Structural isolation achieved.