the boy takes
             half a little
         dance on the
           sidewalk and a
              step or a
            giggle and two;
           `mother may i'
             his mantra, only
           half a whit
            serious, that half
         a cringe, the
            other a smirk.
           he steps around
             cracks, then on
            them, then off;
             waiting to hear
  a loud snap
behind him.  his
 mother does not
notice his games,
   preoccupied as she
 is with the
grocery bags.  but
   at some unconscious
 level, she feels
  some control slip
    and knows he
      may not be
   her boy anymore.