Umbrella In essence a bare skeleton of steel, beginning with a collapsible spine meant to be stretched heavenward and locked, in the process unfurling in arches several radii jack-knifed in waiting, which in turn pull taut between them a thin slick cloth that balls moisture into droplets to slide tumbling to the ground — all… Continue reading Profiles of Common Things No. 4: Umbrella

Elevator Metal-walled room that moves on a vertical axis. Unlike most rooms, its purpose is not only to contain but to transport. Stepping into one is to “ride” one. At many moments the rider is technically within, impossibly, two different floors of a building. (!) Dynamics within depend on number of “riders.” If one: Reflection,… Continue reading Profiles of Common Things No. 3: Elevator

Hand Fleshy, boned and muscled thing, too terrible to contemplate for long. Severed, connotes helplessness. Large, connotes brutality. At the five extremities of such a thing dully gleam translucent shells that guard the tenderest of areas. A “right-hand man” is a traitor in comrade disguise, or a thought-less dog — most often the former. A… Continue reading Profiles of Common Things No. 2: Hand

Book Some object which, between two stiff things called covers, reveals itself upon opening to be papers bound tightly on one side by glue or string. Upon the pages are things that were once thoughts, now stamped black in such glyphs known as letters. An attempt to hold and make permanent the soul.* How to… Continue reading Profiles of Common Things No. 1: Book