bow

when i was about six i did a presentation

up in front of the class with a sort-of-friend

he had red henna in his hair

or maybe that hadn't happened yet

i was always annoyed by him

the fact that he was ahead of me in reading

i didn't know, standing next to him

that we came from similar places

that we were different to the other kids

who watched as we attempted to bow

the back of his head collided with my eye

that decision to bow in front of our class

to make the other kids laugh

put us in the office with a bruise and a black eye

two ice packs and excessive complaining

11 years and several more concussions later

my eyes are damaged once again

from excessive scrubbing at one in the morning

after screaming our guts out at a stage

in the city, a two hour train trip out of town

we stumbled home with our arms around each other

sitting on the floor of the train compartment

laughing despite our shattered throats

red stars in our eyes that only blinked to the other

this is a different kind of butterfly effect

in the way we emerged from our harsh chrysalis

and watched each other change