Russian Roulette
In retrospect, it was all
a matter of misfortune.
Had the sun risen just
a moment later that morning,
Had the planets aligned propitiously,
Had a collision on the flyover
prevented our meeting,
or the storm they foresaw for Sunday,
or a sudden, unassailable excuse:
the flu, bad news from work.
Had we only, at four rounds down,
not chanced upon the gun,
and had he not raised it,
tempting fate with a single bullet,
trembling despite the drink,
spinning a series of possibilities
into certainty with one shot.
In retrospect, it was all
a matter of misfortune.
Had the sun risen just
a moment later that morning,
Had the planets aligned propitiously,
Had a collision on the flyover
prevented our meeting,
or the storm they foresaw for Sunday,
or a sudden, unassailable excuse:
the flu, bad news from work.
Had we only, at four rounds down,
not chanced upon the gun,
and had he not raised it,
tempting fate with a single bullet,
trembling despite the drink,
spinning a series of possibilities
into certainty with one shot.