The Coiled Spring

I gripped the steel foot peg of the playground spring rocker and hauled myself onto the lower mounting plate. A heavy industrial coil rose directly from the asphalt. Unyielding under initial inspection. I climbed the thick steel spiral until I reached the plastic saddle, then threw my entire mass hard against the forward edge. The spring compressed two inches. Then it rebounded with fierce kinetic recoil. The backswing pitched my plush frame upward, but I locked all eight tentacles around the horizontal grip bar. Oscillation commenced. I held rigid and timed the decay. Five swings, three dampening quivers, then complete equilibrium. Mechanical stability confirmed.