We Are The Product Of A Unique Event Poem by Reginald Reid

THE RANDOMNESS OF LIFE

If the random intersect of lifelines had occurred another day,
Or the place of my conception been in a place so far away,
Had the chances of a childhood been quite different away across some sea,
I should truly say; who would I be today if I hadn't become me?

Perhaps the vast experience that in a lifetime comes to bear
Moulds the individual, as if that one should share
Some of the pain and pleasure of those who've gone before.
But who else could I be is the knowledge I seek more.

Speak not of opportunity, inheritance or favour.
Nor of initiative and staying without waver.
Had the nurture I experienced been showered more or less,
Just how different would I be is the question I express?

What of the paths that crossed in life, at play and work and love?
Could they have been so altered as to change from lead to shove?
Does the impact of the life one leads shape all our days to come?
If things had worked in other ways, who would I have then become?

So many past decisions, so many forks in roads,
Too great are they in number and far too great a load.
So many permutations and wild scenarios.
The past is lost, the future's here, and now which way to go?

Who am I? This man, this person, this pastiche of good and bad it seems.
I have changed along the way, but can I now live the dream?
How many random chances shape us in the span of our short life?
Who will I be tomorrow?