There are things that we want,
and things we can’t have,
one word sums it all:
‘If…’
though it may be small.

My mental picture
and reality
don’t seem to match up
so what I say is this:
if and only if.

If and only if…
I could fly, I could soar,
I could break down the doors
between us
if and only if.

If and only if
my dreams could come true
I’d float along in bliss
and for that I can say this:
if and only if.

If and only if
I found miracles round every corner,
the ups and downs could disappear
as would my fears
if and only if…

‘If and only if…’
this phrase is short but carries meaning,
and the one word itself is magic,
because its the first step to believing…
begin by just repeating: ‘if and only if.’

I don’t know what possessed me to write this. The phrase just sounded right for the title of a poem, I guess. And if (there it is again) you think about it, the more you realize that that one single word: ‘if’ is the beginning of a dream, of an obsession, of a goal…You think, ‘if and only if…’ It’s a wish. We all have them, and I think (I hope) I captured this revelation of mine just right in the poem. This thought seems to make sense to me…but it might not to some others. If you DO think it makes sense, please comment and let me know!! (I need to be reassured that my poem wasn’t just some random sentences put down on paper.)

– Brooke