Tuesday 11 September 2018

And If......




If my mother had not gone to the Pictures that night
Or had gone to the Castle, instead of the Astor
If she had arrived five minutes later
My father would have been ahead of her in the queue,
and not behind,
And he would not have seen the fire in her hair
Catch the light of the evening sun
And if he had looked down at that epiphanic
Moment to retrieve a fallen coin
I would have been unconsummated
And if he had not followed her gaze
To the pair of shoes,
Or was it a handbag?
In McKinley’s shop window, and said,
“Would you like me to buy that for you?”
And if he had not startled her with his boldness
that unleashed laughter and not distain
My non- existence would have been ensured.
For it takes such fortuitous events
Such flukes in the passage of time
Such serendipities
To make us who we are.

Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2018

1 comment:

  1. Wow - that is so beautiful. Like a scene in a movie - Casablanca style!

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