A Slow Motion Ballet

The month is quickly coming to an end and I forgot all about the word for the month. Actually I didn't forget, I simply moved beyond the word to my own concerns. Now with a new prompt word two days away I feel I need to return to the word for May --play.

Anything can become a competing sport. I once attended a day long kite workshop offered by a student from MIT. We constructed large sled kites out of clear plastic and then painted a design on the front. My design--a face. For its maiden voyage I selected a small hill, a knoll, a place where I knew that a soft landing was possible.

But staying within a comfort level can become boring so I bought four fifty pound weight spools of 400 feet twine and a proper kite winder. On a beautiful summer day I headed to the beach and waited for the perfect breeze to begin flying my kite. Once it caught the breeze it began to climb quickly. Because the kite was transparent plastic all that was visible was a small face. After all the string left the winder I played with the kite letting it dive down and then taking it up again--precipitous dives.

As the breeze picked up, the kite strained against a taut string. For an hour the kite toyed with the birds and then as if wanting to fly free it broke away. I watched a slack string collapse.

The kite floated into the ocean.