From wood it's made,
From string it's made,
It floats upon the winds.

It's made by one,
It's made by many,
From hands and mouths it spins.

A score without a game.
A staff not for the lame.
With seven letters tamed.
With five letters named.

Without consulting other postings:

The first stanza initially preempts a yoyo, but the last line might suggest a kite.  And yet: "..the winds" could be the coils of string.

Third line of 2nd stanza could be referring to the variety of tricks
("eating spaghetti" being one).

The first line of the last stanza fits in with Coca Cola sponsoring yoyo championships around the world from c. 1960's to ? .

"A staff ..' suggests that line of thinking is wrong, and I think of a game with a string attached to two rods and a "cotton reel" as the toy.

I have no name for it, but it is quite popular with Japanese children; I have a fleeting sense of memory however that the device which I am describing has it roots with the Navajo Indian - American residents, please put me right on the last thought.

Posted by brianjn on 2005-08-26 08:55:00