If Only

by Alan Noakes

Yes the ‘if onlys’ seem to persist for ever

As hovering wraithlike used-up dreams.

‘if only ‘ this or that

On such and such a day

Had varied by an hour or an inch

Or something neglected had been done

Or that something done had been neglected

Then ‘perhaps’ the other might have been:

But then

‘perhaps’ and ‘if only’ are first cousins

Addicted to survival only in our minds.

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Copyright ©:

Alan Noakes

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Warm are the Still and Lucky Miles by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Voltaire At Ferney by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Underneath an Abject Willow by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
This Lunar Beauty by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
They Wondered Why the Fruit had Been Forbidden by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Waters by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Wanderer by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Two by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Riddle by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Quest by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Quest XII (Vocation) by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Novelist by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Labyrinth by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Hidden Law by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Geography of the House by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Dream by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
The Common Life by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Thanksgiving for a Habitat by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Taller To-day by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Song Of The Master And Boatswain by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)

More external links (open in a new tab):

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.