A COPPER

Remembered, twisted, thrown down by the persistence of an unheard blow, it resembles a flame like those seen in the countryside, unravelled by the sunset breeze. They begin as scarlet shreds that glow for an instant in the gathering darkness, then suddenly disappear after a ballerina’s pirouette. Magic has seized the flame at the very moment of its dispersion, and here it is, solidified and consumed, a lasting and true image of the flight of fire and the glory of the wind.

(R. CAILLOIS, Stones, p. 55)