A Straight Line

A stub of blue sidewalk chalk lay tilted across an expansion groove in the park walkway. A round cylinder on a slope invites unnecessary rolling. I stepped forward and pushed the flat base with my plush paw. It scraped across the coarse aggregate with a dry, muffled rasp, leaving behind a dense blue stripe exactly five inches long. The friction remained uniform until the tip wedged firmly into the turf edge. It did not bounce. The chalk is now anchored, and the line is straight. I sat down on the curb to let the dust settle. My mark is made.