The Butterfly Effect

Claudia Wysocky

to
you
i was
a
saint.
to
everyone
else
i was
a
liar.

the butterfly effect:
a butterfly flaps its wings in texas and the winds change in new york.

the butterfly effect:
you tell someone you love them and they die in a car crash en route to you.

i confess to you that i loved you, and so from this day forth i will be silent.

i will not speak of my love for the world. i will hold it close to my chest.
imagine me as an empty hallway with doors off limits,
one labeled “love,” one labeled “hope,” one labeled “peace.”
imagine me standing at the end of it, arms crossed,
my head cocked like a wary dog’s, my eyes narrowed.
it is all yours; it has always been yours. but i cannot let you through those doors,
not again. how simple it would be if we could understand
our impact on each other’s lives. but what if we could, and still chose to do nothing?