Journey & change

Stairs in the cup

Stairs climb the wall of the cup in a row of short, ordered marks: progress that doesn't arrive all at once but in stages. They usually accompany a stretch of work and patience, when the result is only visible once you look back. Rising stairs carry an ascent; descending ones, a return to something you left unfinished — and that isn't a fall, only another kind of path.

Position changes the tone: nearer the rim speaks of what is close, nearer the bottom of what is further off; a clearer shape speaks louder than a faint one.