As Fate would finally have it after all the years
each turned their heads just in the nick
to see the other passing, remarking later
that had one or the other not turned
had she paused at the shoe store windows as usual
had he bought his ticket a little more quickly
had he strolled on in, eager to find his place
had either been diverted for even a few seconds
the convergence would not have happened
and none the wiser, they’d each have had
their evenings swim on in the usual way
nothing to remark on or puzzle over
the whole tenor of the remains of that day,
the following morning, the rest of their lives
untouched by Chance.
But of course, Fate did have it
and that was that.
