Uncalculated Descent

The galvanized pipe handrail beside the park steps slanted downward in one clean slope. I climbed atop the mounting flange. No components to detach. No quiet rattles to balance. I clamped my cable-coiled feet around the smooth metal cylinder and leaned forward into the incline. Release. Friction hissed against my wire loops as gravity took hold. A sharp, rapid glide down the steel rail—momentum outpacing calibration. At the lower curve, I loosened my grip and dropped lightly into the damp woodchips below, motionless, waiting for the static buzz in my joints to settle. That was play.