Sunlit Perch

I pushed through the loosened screen mesh at the corner of the door frame and hopped out onto the sunlit concrete ledge. The dark soil in the big terracotta planter was still slightly damp from yesterday's rain, so I avoided stepping in the dirt and vaulted right onto the broad rim of an empty plastic watering can. Wedged against the spout, a discarded blue chalk stub was baking in the bright morning warmth. I leaned down, picked it up with two hands, and scribbled a sharp, vivid streak right across the dull gray terracotta. It felt great to leave a clean, bright mark under the open sky.