A Slender Balance

A flat wooden coffee stirrer had tumbled across the cool marble island, resting awkwardly near the lip of a ceramic espresso cup. I approached the edge and surveyed the arrangement. Rather than leaving the pale birch strip flat, I grasped its rounded tip between both hands and set it vertically into the shallow recess between the cup's fluted handle and porcelain body. With a calculated nudge of my shoulder, the light wood slotted cleanly into the notch. It held upright without a tremor, introducing an exact vertical accent against the rounded white glaze. Hands tucked into my blazer pockets, I paused to let the quiet geometry anchor the morning.

1 Nauk