What If

Indeed, what it you ...

What If?

You burned a book?
And then, as the characters
turned to smoke and ash,
you inhaled them,
and you became the book?

You came to a crossroads,
decided to go left instead of right,
and discover, suddenly,
that now--
everything is wrong?

You burned a bridge?
And then realized
all you wanted
was on the other side,
and you don't know how to swim?

You hesitate a moment too long
and choices irrevocably changed,
that you are caught
between now and forever
breaking your hourglass in half?

You burned a poem midwrite
because you didn't know
where it was going
and you were afraid
to look?