Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2020complete | Page 74

Timelessness is a strange notion:
The feeling of staying awake until the sun rises. Long plane journeys. Confinement.
But it doesn’t really exist outside of your perception,
It takes no time for its passage to be put back in motion.
In an instant
It resumed,
Correcting itself.
The universe always strives to be interminably consistent.
Something peculiar happened in those brief moments of hesitation,
The world around him fell away, no, it moved forward.
The boy gazed at the charm in his palm in wonder,
And he wondered that in this case, did correlation truly mean causation?
He marvelled at how the city had grown
Into a jungle of skyscrapers,
With patches in the canopy revealing the unchanging blue sky
Into the future, where trees have sprouted from seeds that were sown.
Reality pulls him back from reflection,
Reminding him of the peculiar circumstances.
He calls to a woman passing by,
Asking her for the year, the location, and some simple directions.
Curiosity is evident on the woman’s expression.
She inquires of his name, his occupation, and a potential head injury
They converse for a while,
His unconventional introduction mostly forgotten.
They envision the future, and what it may hold
Would it bring wealth or happiness?
He divulged that he was merely a struggling business man-
In the future he sees, there lay no mountain of gold.
She tells him not to be discouraged,
Bringing up a distinctly familiar name - his own.
Another businessman, who started in the very same place,
But soon found his fortune, and quickly flourished.
He bid her a confounded farewell
In favour of seeking out himself,
Coming across the extravagant mansion he would one day call home,
Holding his breath, he rang the doorbell.
The person who answered was like a mirror image, only weathered by the years.
Soon he was being led through a house,
The interior as lavish as the outside - draped in fine silk, chiselled out of marble,
Lit with numerous crystal chandeliers.
To discuss this extraordinary event
They took lunch in a spacious sitting room,
Debating if circumstances can be changed with direction
And if so, to what extent?