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.
Copyright ©:
Alan Noakes

A few random poems:
- My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance, 1981 by Maria Mazziotti Gillan
- Surrounded
- Crazy Jane On God by William Butler Yeats
- Shattered Dreams. Broken Promises. by Russell James
- I Travelled among Unknown Men by William Wordsworth
- One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
- A Galloway Song poem – John Keats poems
- Владислав Крапивин – Когда тебя замучил враг
- Владимир Маяковский – Журнал “Крысодав”
- Against All Streams by Walter William Safar
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 22. Let Erin Remember the Days of Old. Томас Мур.
- The Distress’d Travellers; or, Labour in Vain by William Cowper
- Distributive Trade II – The Wholesaler
- Sonnet 128: How oft, when thou, my music, music play’st by William Shakespeare
- Геннадий Айги – Два эпилога
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- Moonlight On The Door by William Barnes
- Me’th Below The Tree by William Barnes
- Meary-Ann’s Child by William Barnes
- Meaken Up A Miff by William Barnes
- Meäry’s Smile by William Barnes
- Meäry Wedded by William Barnes
- Martin’s Tide by William Barnes
- Married Peäir’s Love Walk by William Barnes
- Looks A-Know’d Avore by William Barnes
- Linda Deäne by William Barnes
- Light Or Sheäde by William Barnes
- Leaves A-Vallèn by William Barnes
- Leady-Day, An’ Ridden House by William Barnes
- Keepen Up O’ Chris’mas by William Barnes
- John Bloom In Lon’on by William Barnes
- John Bleäke At Hwome At Night by William Barnes
- Jeane’s Wedden Day In Mornen by William Barnes
- In The Stilness O’ The Night by William Barnes
- I’m Out O’ Door by William Barnes
- Hope In Spring by William Barnes
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
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.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works