Center:

a line is drawn

in pencil

across the page’s midline.

ㅤ

Center:

the instrument is level—

within tolerance—

ㅤ

The wrist

makes its correction—

a fraction—

ㅤ

the body

does not take it

but remains—

ㅤ

Center (as entered):

confirmed—

ㅤ

drift: within tolerance—

ㅤ

Center:

the hand returns

to the same point—

does not meet it—

ㅤ

Still, the record prints cleanly:

ㅤ

alignment confirmed—

status: in force—

measurement complete—

ㅤ

Center:

not fixed—

ㅤ

Center:

carried—

---

Topher Shields is a poet from Aotearoa New Zealand. His work appears in Puerto del Sol, Washington Square Review, The Shore, Cordite Poetry Review, and Mantis, among others. He was a finalist for the River Heron Editors’ Choice Poetry Prize (2025). His debut chapbook, The Calliper Remained Open, is forthcoming from Penumbra Press in December 2026.
ㅤ

Picture Credits: Musa Ali Chaudhry