Meniscus:
Surface tension & the comforting science of water’s skin
Week 1. Sloshed
The blue room again. Everyone here has fallen
out of love. The first
nurses a Matisse bruise. Watch it smart
as sunlight catches and shatters on his
twelfth rib. He tells you this:
A glass
half- filled
with red wine will float freely
in the bath.
Week 2. Toss
Sterile lake, the operating table in a blue
hospital room. We stare, laugh at the way we seem
on its cold metal surface. You can’t see our bruises.
Hold on to each other’s ribs,
Let’s get a photo of this!
We look good together,
no?
When we threw
rocks at the Pukaki dusk, you said
To skim a stone, first
select smooth, unscathed,
heart-sized stones
Use forefinger and thumb to spin, then
release the wrist
throw flat and fast. Now
hold your breath and hope
Week 3. Duck, duck, goose
With no sticks or stones to throw, we feed the ducks.
You say not all ducks and drakes mate for life: some
mallards are philanderers and hens can be picky when
selecting their partner from the pecking order. Many prefer
a drake that will protect for as long as possible. The hen
however is capable of looking after her ducklings without
the drake. Social fidelity is far more common than genetic
fidelity. In other words, animals may appear to pair-
bond, but there's lots of fooling around going on..
