Suspension Line

Two heavy cast-iron bollards flanked the walkway, joined by a slack iron chain drooping in a low curve above the curb. I stepped off the granite edge and planted my boot into the hollow of a rusted link. The suspension dipped, swinging with a faint metallic creak. Usually, I would slip a stone wedge beneath to arrest the sway. Not this afternoon. Dropping my center of gravity, I timed my weight against the oscillation, moving link by link up the ascending arc. Three measured strides brought me onto the rounded dome of the iron post. Motion mastered without restraints.