Face-to-face, we are spoilt for choice:
sandwiched between Guru Express
and gaudy Welcome Fish’n’Chips,
the He Wei Chinese Takeaway.
Jointly, their open countenance
is upbeat, two-fingered challenge
to the windowless Curves – ladies
only 30 minute work-out –
glowering back across the road.
Much is in the choosing:
how shape fits to the curve
of thumb and index finger,
the weight in your palm.
And smoother the better,
stone and water both,
to amplify the bounces
as spin and tension clash.
When flicked release is flat
as leaning knees allow,
then ripples splash the surface,
dance in liquid rings.
Over tumbled lifetimes,
by billion-fold collision
tide-worn, a pebble
waits for you to throw it.
