Hopscotch
One foot, two feet, doing fine.
Do not stray over the line.
This childhood game of balanced action
far in the past, a mere abstraction—
a metaphor far from unique
for the balance that you seek
as you advance as you are able,
moving forward, sometimes stable
on two feet. balanced and steady,
resting there and getting ready
for that time when one foot only
rests on firm ground, feeling lonely.
One leg, balanced in the air
is enough to curl your hair
but two firm squares are there ahead,
so you hop up to them, instead—
balanced on one foot or two
in each adventure offered you.
So life advances, hop after hop
No choice except to never stop.
Prompt words today are forward, unique, ulotrichous (curly-haired), abstraction. Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash. Used with permission.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Oh~! Memories, and my sisters always had better balance~! Thanks, well done~!
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Oh~! Memories, and my sisters always had better balance~! The turnaround was always my “downfall”. Thanks, well done~!
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Jinx! I just said the same before reading your reply..Hope that wasn’t a literal downfall.
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No they still let me play and I could beat them at marbles~! As to Jacks I never could coordinate it. and jump-rope was something else, seems that I was just the turner while they got to jump. Oh wow that was so long ago~!
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Blind Man’s bluff? London Bridge? Captain May I? Poor Pussy? Fox, Fox Goose? New Orleans? Any sound familiar?
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the first three yes, the rest we must have called something else. There was one you mentioned some time back that we had another name for that was fun. It involved throwing a ball over the top of the house. And there were several we had at school (other than marbles) that involved gambling. Yes this was Louisiana and we did gamble at recess, sometime for marbles and other times for something the other had and we wanted.
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Annie I Over. We threw it over a wall.
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I remember throwing stones in squares and then hopping to them and always stepping on lines and losing the game. What fun! I love how you captured the whole spirit in your wonderful poem. Great work, Judy!
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Thanks, Mason. I had trouble with the turn at the top square. I know some let you hop off at the top, turn around and hop in again, but hey, that’s cheating!!
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Sure is! You have to stay in the square as you turn! Oh the fun of playtime!
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No choice but to never stop – what a way to END it. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in our lives, the sun always comes up and life always moves on. Well done!
Feel free to stop by and see my post on Unique: https://humblebuthumorous.com/2021/01/26/gibby/
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Excellent poetry Judy! Brava!
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Fantastic poem! I remember those days.
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Sed to love this as a child, played w grandkids too.
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