in another life maybe
the rock that you tripped over as a child
wouldn’t be there
maybe you wouldn’t see that movie that day
maybe you liked that elementary teacher
maybe your mother didn’t shout at you for overstaying your bedtime
maybe you treated your siblings better
or didn’t fight them over a bag of chips
maybe your high school lover treated you better
maybe universe answered that one prayer
maybe one of all these little things
or all of them combined
could lead us into each other
maybe we could fight over some senseless matter
and make love the same night
maybe we could wash the dishes together,
pick you an outfit for work and complain how hard it is to be an adult
but in another life it is..
because once you tripped over that rock
and i have to live knowing
that you will never even get the slightest idea
or a momentary thought
of how it would make us feel
to wash those dishes together tonight