Before, every object had a word
Every action had a verb
I could see it printed in my head like the dots on a crinkled newspaper

The sky wasn't just a sky
It was a robin's egg blue canvas painted on with wisps and spirals and flecks of the most vibrant white
Expanding, curving, fluctuating into a sphere that covered the earth

The ground wasn't just a ground
It was emerald green whistles, strands bending in the air, speckled with white and dotted with lavender
Floating and coursing with the wind

This was before
This was when someone said something I'd see the words, ",he declared"
This was when someone looked annoyed, I'd peg, "He raised his eyebrows"
This was before
When I had words
Every word was a colour
It would ache if the colour wasn't the right hue
And refresh if it was
Now, all I see is reality
And it turns out it's all in black and white