Poem “Only If…”
Only if… you knew
What I know, what I see, what I feel
Then maybe my if would be your if
Then we could share my pain and
The question mark in my head will
Be easier to deal with.
Only if…
My only if would come to reality
Only if the judge could see inside of me
Then he/she would say, what if
I would have released him to begin
With… and I’ll be in my cell saying also…
Only if!
3 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us! Our decisions can way heavily on us, but we can’t live in the past. I hope you can use your past for good. I hope you find joy and recognize your accomplishments. Keep writing!
KC
This poem represents why I do not like to judge people for their feelings. You express how if other people were in your head for a day they’d understand you better. Unfortunately, we cannot ever know the true extent of what someone is feeling. Yes, we can relate to people with similar stories and get an idea of how they may be doing, but everyone experiences feelings so differently regardless of how similar the scenario is. Although it isn’t possible to physically feel what someone is going through, as a society we should learn from the times people don’t understand our emotions and remember what that feeling of not being understood is like. When we look at it this way we are more open minded as people to at least try and understand why people behave the way they do.
Thank you writer for this wonderful piece that evokes forgiveness and pondering thought. Your If is very outstanding and powerful and I hope you can hold on to that. I think your story could help and inspire a lot of people like it has inspired me.