When i was a child i
lived on city sidewalks;
not literally, of course.
we had a pleasant home
with generous backyard;
but i learned to bike,
play jacks, hopscotch,
and roller-skate
with neighbor kids
on paved pathways.
Sidewalks’ cracked
upheaval just adds
to the adventure…you
must avoid the bumps!
Life lesson learned:
concrete is painfully
unforgiving to bare
knees and elbows
when crash landing
brother’s bike off ramp.
The sidewalk was
a way of opportunity:
waiting at school bus stop,
biking to friend’s house,
riding to corner drugstore
to spend quarter on candy;
walking dog to nearby park,
running for grocery item
or reporting to babysitter
duties around our block.
Sometimes the
city sidewalk scene
turned threatening:
dark shaded, vacant
vine covered manse;
suspicious stranger
beckoning from car
parked in narrow alley,
or snarling doberman
chasing flying pedals.
Our fenced lawn
was a refuge; our
apple tree, an oasis
in a maze of sidewalks,
brick walls, city streets.
i’m happy for my childhood;
and grateful my own children
live on land rurally graced
with open skies and space
for green, growing things.
a poem in my pocket 
Dec 10, 2014 @ 20:46:51
Playing jacks, wow that took me back….you capture the magic and pleasure of the city so well Lynn, very vivid depictions. Well done.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 15:53:11
In WA state, the sidewalks always smell of recent rain, or wet leaves, of stubborn weeds. As a kid, in various neighborhoods, we played stickball, baseball, football in the streets, but we did bike, roller skate, & commute on those city sidewalks; nice take on the prompt.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 22:24:34
Sidewalk memories of wet leaves and stubborn weeds for sure!
Dec 10, 2014 @ 13:31:56
I like what you shared about growing up in the city, Lynn, and how you used the images linked to the sidewalks. I too learned how to bike on a sidewalk.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 12:08:31
I really enjoyed reading this, as it reminded me of some of my childhood experiences as well. I remember biking and playing hopscotch and roller skating on those sidewalks & climbing an apple tree in the field just outside of my backyard. Nice one.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 14:45:02
Thanks for your comments, Mary!
Dec 10, 2014 @ 07:21:38
I like your trip down memory street – you childhood sounds idyllic, apart from the snarling doberman and the grazed knees.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 06:38:51
Your second paragraph was really good. Simple connections that we can all relate to. A lot goes on in those sidewalks.
Dec 10, 2014 @ 05:51:05
There are things to play where only sidewalks will do, there are others where only orchards are right.. Is there a place for both?
Dec 10, 2014 @ 14:43:19
Yes, definitely a place for both…my sons have their share of concrete pads on our farm as well as trees 🙂
Dec 10, 2014 @ 05:25:11
When I visited my grandparents in Portland, I used to play hopscotch on the sidewalks…thanks for reminding me of some good childhood memories..I can see how it would be to grow up on them. Nice your kids have the opportunity to be freer in the open fields. Some people go back to a like habitat..others don’t want to have anything to do with it, whichever it is. Nice poem
Dec 10, 2014 @ 04:57:33
oy on the doberman… and cool you had your apple tree oasis in all the concrete… where i grew up, there was a lot of concrete as well and we used to play all day on the sidewalks, learning to bike as well – though there was a big grass square between the apartment blocks and that became our refuge and the magic carpet for many, many games for all the many kids that lived there…
Dec 10, 2014 @ 04:04:39
Sidewalks and green spaces… what more could any child ask for?