firecat

100poems

if I could go back in time
and change one thing

I would close my eyes, and twirl
the dial of the time machine
until I was done twirling.

Once arrived, I would walk
until I found
a field of flowers.

Eyes shut, I would walk through the field,
then crawl,
or roll like a pillbug,
and then do somersaults
until I was done somersaulting.

I would choose one flower,
perhaps a fully ripe one,
with bumble bees
as big as grapes
hanging over it

Or perhaps a young one,
only just beginning
to peel back its enclosing bud
and stretch its petals

And then I would change the color
of that flower. Maybe from yellow
to red, or from white to purple,
or maybe to orange polka dots.

Then I would run, run as fast as I could,
back to my time machine, hurriedly press
the button to take me back
to the present, burning
with curiosity, to find out:

what happened next?