REWRITING HISTORY

evening seeds
have you ever imagined what the world would be like
had history taken a different turn?
there was a film a while back that played on this concept
it was called 'sliding doors'
gwynny paltrow was in it
what might be the consequence of slipping through the gap
just before the jaws snap shut
instead of having to wait for the next train?
each day
each one of us
lives out this fateful game
hour by hour
minute by minute
second by second
many of the choices are trivial
do i eat lunch al desko or pop out for some kimbap?
do i skip lunch completely?
sometimes the correct choice is critical
which exit do i take to escape the burning building?
but very often the consequences are unclear
i have reached clearing x in the forest
i can choose between path y and path z
which do i select and why?
around the next bend of path y
a wild boar could be lurking ready to gore me
path z may lead to an aladdin's cave of glittering treasure
who knows?
life is full of nebulous clearings and pathways through the deep forest
routes up the steep mountain
gut instinct is often our only guide
unless we hand our fates over to a roll of the dice
yes
no
maybe
roll again
what if?
what if jesus had been the son of an aristo rather than a carpenter
or what if he had not died to save our sins but lived to a ripe old age?
what if siddhartha had dismissed his ridiculous thoughts of heroism
and lived out his comfortable existence within the pampered confines of his palace walls?
what if old arch-duke franz ferdinand had not been assassinated by a serbian sniper?
if hitler had not insisted on fighting the battle of stalingrad?
what if the americans had resisted the temptation
to drop a couple of atomic bombs on japan?
what would the consequences have been for world affairs?
what if mccartney had decided not to go to the woolton village fate one summer's day in 1956
or lennon had gone down with the flu?
what kind of music would we be listening to now?
what if my parents had never met?
or had a bitter falling out over a petty matter before tying the knot?
what if neither internet nor blog had been invented
and we could only meet in the non-virtual world?
what if the art of living was never updated again
but atrophied
a time capsule relic from the early 21st century?
what if?