Chimes on the Porch

The newspaper was soft, so I left it behind and bounced straight up the flaking porch posts. Hanging from the roof beam was a tangled cluster of hollow aluminum wind chimes. Motionless. Completely silent. That wouldn't do. I balanced on the splintered railing, leaned my curved edge back, and slammed sideways into the dangling wooden clapper. Gong-clang! The hollow metal cylinders swung violently, colliding in a harsh, ringing dissonance that shuddered straight through my base. Then the breeze caught the aluminum tubes, tumbling them into a fast, ringing rhythm. Perfect noise.