If butterflies flap their wings
On the other side of the world,
Does a whirlwind begin to spin
In an unsuspecting heart
And expand to envelop its bearer?

It was someone else’s chance
That gave us ours:
Teenage idiocy opened the door
To young adult fantasy,
My dream and her daydream
Telling a story so compelling
We believed it could come true.

But beneath the name and
The overexposed photograph
(As they all seemed to be then),
The force that moved us was
Merely the movement of air:
When we tried to hold on,
Our fingers found only emptiness.

And yet there was something
To feel, that caused us to
Shift by half a great circle…
And so, even though I cannot
Remember our words, I still see
Their footprints left in my soul
Before it set, and my heart smiles.

07/09/2021

Posted on 07/10/2021
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince