Best of All Possible Worlds

Besides the one we occupy, 
            how many other worlds exist?  Not
a new conundrum: these puzzle pieces 
           floating around since antiquity, well 
before medieval times. You could say 
           even the Buddhists think of this world 
as only one among many others.
           This is why, processed out of the nth 
recycling, we're not necessarily coming 
           back the same. If you put a computer
into the hands of stoics and atomists, 
           would they still arrive at warring 
conclusions about the nature of
           the physical world?  Here, the streets 
are lined with larch trees and crepe myrtle, 
           dogwood, sweet gum, magnolia. 
In another city, pines drop their needles; 
           willow tips brush the surface of a lake. 
The eternal question: whether we're thrown
           from one accident to the next, or can relish 
the knowledge of action coming from real 
           choice— I don't mean fries or no fries, 
regular or gluten free, first class or 
           economy. What I mean is, do we want 
to believe in the existence of another 
           universe where the chances our actions 
might prevent the world from ending 
          are about equal to those resulting from
our inaction? Wherever that is, I'm guessing
          it probably looks like a sim of the world
we're in— Except that in the one I want,
          I'd sit on the beach half-in and half-
out of water, just feeling the ebb  and flow.
          I'd eat fruit popsicles and mounds
of rice without gaining an inch. I'd change 
           the color of the front door from last 
year's teal to grand canyon red and read about  
           how all immigrant children have been  
reunited with  their families and how no one  
           uses fossil fuels or assault weapons anymore. 
I'd go to bed at night for mad love, even knowing 
           as we all do there's still no guarantee 
any of us will wake up again in the morning;