The Message  
Byron Hoot

The phone message began
with my first name so I
knew it was a stranger.
 
I thought, What if time had
slipped?  What if I was being
given a chance to redeem
my life?  Make other choices
than the ones chosen?  
 :
I thought of my family
and friends, those I love,
of all the stories, of where
I am and who I am,
 
waited for the message to end.