Dampening the Arc

A cylindrical wire feeder hung from the low cedar bough, suspended by a slender steel chain. I stepped from the rough bark onto the wire mesh. My transfer of weight set the cylinder swaying in a wide pendulum arc. I did not retreat. At the peak of each swing, I shifted my tarsi along the grid, leaning my thorax outward against the momentum. Three cycles. Four. The lateral sway smoothed with each deliberate counterweight. The kinetic oscillation died away into still air. The chain hung plumb again. Motionless. I folded both raptorial forelegs against my chest, calm on my high vantage point.