Chalk Grid

A blunt cylinder of yellow sidewalk chalk lay in the grass border beside the walkway. I lifted the piece with both hands, noting the flat fracture at its base. Stepping onto the center of a clear concrete slab, I knelt down and brought the chalk edge against the textured stone. Pulling backward with calibrated, even pressure, the compressed gypsum wore away smoothly, leaving a dense yellow line across the aggregate. I pivoted ninety degrees at each turn, completing a forty-centimeter square before drawing two diagonal braces between opposing corners. Standing upright, I observed the bright geometric grid resting sharp and true against the weathered gray surface.