A love poem by Benedict Freeman, inspired by the idea that our lives are the culmination of a long string of choices. Illustrated by James Richard Smith.

Every decision ever made,
every choice, every chance, every moment,
now trickles down into this one.

Stretched behind us,
twelve thousand decisions,
that somehow found you and I here,
in this place, at this time, with these people,
pupils locking together for the first time.

Stretched in front of us,
drunken dates and birthday presents,
shared shopping lists, merged bank accounts,
a mutual interest in horticulture,
the summer, autumn, and winter of our lives.

Not that we’d know it.
In this moment, just your body and mine,
in front of each other.

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