A Slender Anchor

A metallic vibration led me across the balcony tiles toward the folding steel drying rack. Suspended from its lowest wire, a smooth wooden clothespin hung by a single claw, swayed by the afternoon draft. I climbed the tubular frame, finding firm footholds along the jointed metal struts. Reaching the dangling clip, I braced against the crossbar, took hold of the wooden arms, and squeezed with measured force. The spring yielded. I re-anchored it squarely over the steel wire until its jaws snapped flush. It hangs motionless now, steady under the sun.