you to me come in parts,
regardless of hearts--

numbing yours ears,
as if no one hears;

then next day you see me and deny
that we ever were close, a passing lie;

in one part you're open and talk,
distancing,  a competitive crosstalk;

in vain my smile, my airs to engage
you in this hapless chat--yet you upstage

me;  next day you come all quiet,
          your eyes
absent elsewhere, thoughts in sighs;

with a new face every time we meet,
when'll our hearts learn to rhyme?

isn't there a future for us together in
        joy--
isn't there in time a chance to enjoy?

                                       -by
                              Hakim H. Kassim.
                              (-d. March 22, 2025)
                              /-Jigjiga.