What If?
Think back to boyhood, greybeard, if you dare.
Think of that throbbing lad with haloed hair,
Come-hither grin, coquettish, camply gay -
Your soul's ambition and your heart's despair:
What if you'd asked him? What if he'd said yes?
A casual coupling? Aids and dark distress?
A brittle bonding, taut with bickering tiffs?
Not likely love's lifelong togetherness.
Consult those outcomes for conjecture's sake -
You did not dare that deed, nor ever make
A valiant venture. No, shamefaced and shy,
You stood self-loathing's ignominious ache.
You did not dare. Instead, you wore the stain
Of loneliness. And was that loss or gain?
Worse than the best, or better than the worst?
What if you'd asked him? Either way lay pain.
This poem is copyright 2003 by Plug, to whom comments may be sent.
