If Only....

A meditation on perspectives

If only I could get out of

This town....

If only I had a better 

Job....

If only I could find someone

To love me....

If only....

Situations.

Momentary boulders in the

Middle of the road.

Clouds passing steadily across

The face of the sun.

Every wall is a door unnoticed,

Every ditch a ladder unseen.

Be done with if onlies and claim

The future unfolding,

And be unjudging, that you

Cast not the chalice away.

Author's Note

If you despair of the present, you will probably despair of the future when it arrives.

Reviews

[Zoe]

This poem really spoke to me. I also really like the structure.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. I have found that the difficulties we encounter can actually be opportunities for getting what we really want. The key is to be open and calm, with negative feelings put on hold for the time being.

[Dave]

How long does it take before our dreams, our wants become reality? When and if we finally reach it are we satisfied? Must we be content with what we already have, yet continue to strive for that which we seek?

Take care - Dave

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Dave. I think we can have satisfaction with what we have and still strive to go higher. This poem was directed to those who see the glass half empty regardless of what they have.

[R.E. Ray]

This poem made me think about "confirmation bias" and our tendency to see what we're looking for. Though our perspectives are often influenced by past experiences, especially bad outcomes, we seem to ignore the possible goodness of what lies before us. Of course, some also look for the obstacles as rationalizations for their own bad decisions or failures. Like your other work, this is worth reflecting on for a while longer. Well written, sir.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks for your thoughtful review. I think of "if only" people as dealers in self fulfilling prophecies.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I remember reading once that a pessimist is one who builds dungeons in the air. It's really the mental chains that bind, and I think life is learning to set yourself free. It's easier some days more than others, but I think it's our human will that keeps us forging ahead. When the glass looks half empty, we need to fill it with the ocean.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. Really liked the last sentence of your comment. Many pessimists think of themselves as realists, unaware they are constructing their own reality.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

You're very welcome. That last sentence just came to me as I was writing the review. I think I might just encapsulate it in a poem. :-)

[Chris Shaw]

Not a fan of if only, especially if there's a lot of them. You just have to accept that things won't always go your way and get over it. Turn a negative into a positive. It makes you feel so much better. Interesting topic for a poem.

Chris

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Chris. You might have noticed there are quite a few "If Only" poems on this site.

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

Pouring out His spirit. Embrace the visions and dreams. Stride boldly, in the light, holding it high. They will come out of the darkness, seeking the way.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. Yes, if we use darkness to find light, it can lift us to a higher level.

[kentuck14]

If when we take our humanity too seriously we tend to lose perspective. We are fragile, finite creatures who are lost to wisdom until life and the life-giver teaches us its meaning. It seems to be a truth: that only when the clouds pass across the face of the sun do we see things as they really are . . . and in the seeing we come to understand. Great poem John. Thanks.
T

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Tom. Adversity should be a guide, not a verdict on life.

[kentuck14]

Amen to that!

[Gerald Parker]

Cast not the chalice away, you say, but what if the chalice is broken? We must toss it into landfill. This seems to be a religious poem.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. Thus far I get the impression this poem has pushed some buttons.

[Gerald Parker]

if I were to say anything about religious poems on poetry sites, I would cause offence.

[John the Baptist]

Actually, this is not a religious poem, as I don't embrace any established creed. It's just a comment on self defeating mindsets.

[Gerald Parker]

"claim he kingdom unfolding" and your non de plume "John the Baptist" sound religious to me but I apologise if I'm mistaken.

[John the Baptist]

I chose that pen name because a mentally ill man at the program where I worked used to call me that. Probably because my name really is John and that was the first connection he made. As to claiming the kingdom, that refers to the full life that is frustrated by focusing on the negative. No need to apologize; many are turned off by organized religion.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

some people are just disgruntled individuals no matter what befriends them or befalls them.
never satisfied....something else always seems better...big problem with that is never ever enjoying the now...or what we have now...the present offers so much if we let it.
j.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, j. Many choose to resist life, seemingly unaware that affects their experience of it.

[']

To me this poem is a sort of fairy tail, a far-cry type of promise. But I imagine to someone better than me, it's an absolute truth, worded in poetic beauty. But I guess that's the point, right? A shot on perspective, which is varying and inconsistent. How difficult this is to read as a severely depressed 21 year-old that has no big picture perspective.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. I'll be 74 next month. When I was 21, even unrepressed, I might have seen this as a fairy tale, too. But the years have widened my perspective, however painful the process might have been. Don't give up.

[kentuck14]

Amen to all of that!