A Measure of Graphite
A pair of antique brass drawing dividers had slipped open across a sheet of heavy cold-press paper, one sharp steel needle gouging an erratic arc into the virgin grain. Stepping across the desk blotter with deliberate poise, I gathered the voluminous crimson drape of my sleeves. I placed both palms against the cool, fluted hinge of the compass. Applying calm and calculated leverage, I drew the splayed arms together until the fine thumbscrew engaged with a soft metallic click. Free from strain, the parallel points now rest flush within a carved pen trench, undisturbed.
