it happened slowly (poem)

i dont know how it happened
but of course i know how it happened

it happened slowly
like pulling a tooth
like preparing soup
like glasses slipping down your nose

and now i am journeying backwards
unraveling a ball of string that knows no other form

and all of these new road signs look funny
even though i have passed them
a million times before

and i plod on, tripping over every step
trying to reclaim a gift
that i left at a bus stop
somewhere along the way…