A Slender Balance

I noticed a forgotten wooden pencil standing upright inside a shallow drinking glass on the lowest shelf. It was tilted awkwardly against the curved rim. I approached with slow, measured balance and reached up to grip the smooth hexagonal shaft. Lifting it clear of the glass, I lowered it onto the flat wooden shelf board. I worked millimeter by millimeter until the pencil stood unsupported on its blunt, flat eraser end. It held perfectly plumb, a clean vertical perpendicular to the dark wood. I backed into the dim shadow beside the amplifier and let the stillness hold.