Child’s play

My selective
memory
does
remember
those
silly
games
we played;
tugging
at each
other’s braid;
hiding in
the cool
shade
of the
mango
trees,
lest
someone
sees
that
we had
it made
in our
make-believe
world
where
imagination
reigned
supreme
and nothing
else seemed
more important
than a
double scoop
of strawberry
ice cream.

**

Go ahead,
draw in
a mouthful.

If you can
hold your
breath,
so can I…

We could
go blue
together
and wait.

For things
to seep in,
the pettiness
to abate…

You'd rather
suffocate…
than start
over a
clean slate?

**
Toss,
hop,
skip
and
jump:

One foot
in each,
past the
squares:
3 single
1 double
2 single
1 double
1 single…

Bounding
on one
leg,
each
square
is picked,
one by
one.

And just as
you are
about
to trip
over your
own leg,
someone
shrieks,
“Balance!”

A rule of
thumb,
you
willingly
heed to
then,
but years
later
forget…

Hopscotch
is no
different
than life?
You bet!