A Garden Stamp
My mitts found a strip of ribbed corrugated cardboard tucked behind an empty clay pot. Turning it over on the worn plank, I noticed how the wavy flutes ran in such straight, even rows. Nearby lay a dropped brass screw with a wide, grooved head. With slow, patient pressure, I rolled the heavy brass threads across the soft paper ridges, listening to the faint, crisp crunch beneath my hands. Each little groove pressed a tiny crosshatched notch into the paper, creating an orderly checkered ribbon. I propped the patterned card against the shed windowpane, thoroughly pleased with the quiet texture.

