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:
- Lying on a Slab by Satish Verma
- Низами Гянджеви – Розу пологом колючим
- Наум Коржавин – Нет! Так я просто не уйду во мглу
- Yarrow Visited by William Wordsworth
- The Song of the Women by Rudyard Kipling
- Геннадий Айги – Дом в поле
- Blow of an ax by Yosa Buson
- Villanelle: Oscar Victorius by T. Wignesan
- Василий Казин – Эпоха
- A Ritual To Read To Each Other by William Stafford
- Владимир Маяковский – Во весь голос
- An Evening in the Mountains by Wang Wei
- Colors And Sounds
- The Demon by Shawn Ervin
- Pax Britannica poem – Alfred Austin
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
- A Plain Life by William Henry Davies
- A Greeting by William Henry Davies
- A Great Time by William Henry Davies
- A Fleeting Passion by William Henry Davies
- Remorse For Intemperate Speech by William Butler Yeats
- Red Hanrahan’s Song About Ireland by William Butler Yeats
- Reconciliation by William Butler Yeats
- Quarrel In Old Age by William Butler Yeats
- Presences by William Butler Yeats
- Politics by William Butler Yeats
- Players Ask For A Blessing On The Psalteries And On Themselves by William Butler Yeats
- Peace by William Butler Yeats
- Paudeen by William Butler Yeats
- Parting by William Butler Yeats
- Parnell’s Funeral by William Butler Yeats
- Parnell by William Butler Yeats
- Owen Aherne And His Dancers by William Butler Yeats
- On Woman by William Butler Yeats
- On Being Asked For A War Poem by William Butler Yeats
- On A Political Prisoner by William Butler Yeats
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