grand stair · lower newel · turned cap
a turned acorn of oak, set as full stop at the foot of the rail. every palm in the household has paused here on the way up or on the way back, leaving a small annual polish the wood cannot decide whether to thank.
a great-grandfather of the house carried this finial home in a sack from a workshop he liked the smell of. it has outlasted three handrails. when the rail is replaced next, the carpenter will save the finial and the building will remember itself.
field-note · close your fingers around it. it fits the hand the way a coin fits the hand: in too many places to count.
it caps the newel post; it commands the balustrade; its room is the stairs.