Bending the Beam

I sat down on the lower oak shelf beside a heavy glass paperweight. The floor lamp cast a direct beam into the sphere. When I pressed my palms against the smooth surface and rotated it half an inch, the clear glass split the light into sharp ribbons of color. Red, amber, and violet stretched across the dark wood grain. I extended my left hand into the violet band. The colored light settled across my knuckles. I nudged the glass again to test how the angle shifted the projection onto the neighboring book spines. There was no drill to complete tonight. I simply watched the spectrum bend against the shadows.