Chance Encounters Poem by Dr. Charles A Stone

each wrong turn leaves a scar
on the stippled lining of my psyche

so when i turned around abruptly and
knocked the avocado from your hands

i stuttered an apology and tried to explain
about wrong turns and scars

while a blemish crept across
the surface of the peach i was holding

but wrong turns are not all random events
you said as you surveyed the produce in my basket

our meeting here might yield fruit of unknown sweetness
you whispered between the lines of your own apology

then you explained how each wrong turn leaves a bruise
on the plum-smooth surface of your psyche

we blushed strawberry red when we realized
how much we were alike

you asked how many wrong turns i thought
might have led us to that aisle

i asked how often we might have crossed paths
and not been aware of it

we each wondered how many scars and bruises
we had accumulated during the years

that preceded our coincidental meeting
among cherries and pears and jalapeno peppers

then we turned and went our separate ways
with our blemished fruit and wounded psyches

still I sometimes wonder how many wrong turns
we each have made since that chance encounter