Playing Pottsy

With a piece of sidewalk chalk,
We’d set the game in motion;
For summer in the city
Gave us neither pool nor ocean.

We’d draw the board so carefully,
One number in each box;
And for our markers, we would search
For little twigs or rocks.

The rules were very simple
And were followed to a T:
Your marker had to land right in box 1 –
That part was key.

And then you had to hop around
From boxes 2 through 8.
If both feet landed in a box,
You really sealed your fate.

For doing so, or stepping on a line,
As we would learn,
Would cause your pals to let you know
That you just lost your turn.

The second toss required
That your marker hit box 2.
Of course, if it touched any line,
That simply wouldn’t do.

But if your toss was clean, you then
Hopped right up to the end,
Until, with hops and tosses
You’d defeated every friend.

Amazing just to think of how
We kept ourselves amused
With sticks and rocks and sidewalk chalk
On urban avenues.