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

Consider This And In Our Time 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)
Cocaine Lil and Morphine Sue by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Christmas Oratio by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Carry Her Over the Water by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Canzone by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Calypso by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Base Words Are Uttered by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Autumn Song by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
August 1968 by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Atlantis by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
As I Walked Out One Evening by W. H. Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
As We Like It by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
As the poets have mournfully sung by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Are You There? by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
After Reading a Child’s Guide to Modern Physics by W. H. Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Academic Graffiti by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
A Walk After Dark by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
A New Year Greeting by W H Auden by Wystan Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden)
Continual Conversation With A Silent Man by Wallace Stevens by Wallace Stevens

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.