The Strangers We Knew

 i  followed all its wandering paths. took them like nourishment. 

i chewed through the chapters. studying the stranger i'd become. 

memory is a cloudy barometer.

perception is a fractured lens. 

little pebbles sunken into a deep well. no wishes left to claim. 

the years spun their spiral notebooks. stuttering truths in an array of deceit. 

the small moments ripened into sour fruit. 

the sweet encounters staled like old bread. 

we stole from each other. we took what we needed. 

we buried our faces in those foul masks. desperate to be someone else. 

but what doesn't fit never will. who we are is not negotiable.