if there was ever a time, when i was you and you were a thousand saved box tops--from sugared cereals i was never allowed to eat as a kid--sneaked in a bag underneath the bed. and we were redeemed for a secret decoder ring. what magic we would have spoken. maybe you would have seen better. a world unlocked by patterns. than my word. maybe i would have seen. how much time steals kisses. and that you are always going to be, you. now i am only me and you are only ever the dumb african ring you left. that has never spoken. to me. not one single word.