just one stupid invention is all we need

as kids,

we used to sit around

on the porch stoop, 

exhausted from

playing ball

all day,

drinking sodas,

and pulling on our caps

while we pondered

our future.

if only we could invent

one thing,

we'd say.

one stupid thing, like

the pet rock,

or the chia pet,

or the slinky, or the

hoola hoop,

we'd be billionaires.

something along the lines of

play dough,

roller skates, or dice.

but we had nothing.

it felt like everything

under the sun

had been invented.

so we turned our attention

to Jenny and her

little sister,

Cat,

who were looking out

the window

across the street making

faces at us.

pigtails and freckles

were in then.