Chance

Chance

The athlete is in range,
he eyes the orange rim
sets,
and shoots;
And there, chance,
the smallest difference in force applied,
the tiniest change of angle
decides between a gracefully arced two points
and momentary embarrassment.

AIR BALL!

We see chance in our daily lives.
The same steps
trudged down thousands of times.
Yet one gloomy morning
mind barely conscious
and a miscount;
one...two...four?

A graceless moment
toe broken,
knees blown out.
Agony caused by the simplest mistake.

In our relationships too,
it exists.
One wrong word,
and love, at last realized,
becomes a nightmare.
Too quick to speak,
too slow to realize
the impact of those words.

The dream vanishes
but the icy solitude left over
will remain.

True enough,
we can improve our odds;
practice, caution,
showing a bit of empathy.
But that gremlin, Chance,
will always be there
sitting on our wing;
Taunting and reminding us
of his power.