What If
By AG
What if human beings lived eternal life
No harm, crime, or death caused by gun or knife
What if pain was a desired pleasure
That healed heartache and found lost treasures
What if dollars hung from trees
And tons of gold could be fished from seas
What if rain washed away hate
And thunderstorms drowned envy for goodness sake
What if the wind was a daily guide
That held your best interest and stayed by your side
What if God was a phone call away
To sense the problems you face day to day
Is it too much to wish that I was blessed with a gift
To make a dream a reality instead of a “What If”?
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I like the overall structure of the poem–how all the “what if” lines lead up to the final couplet that asks a question. And the fact that the last question is totally ironic is cool–you’re asking all these “what if” questions in order to make a dream a reality. So you’re actually relying on “what if” to get away from “what if”–which is impossible. I like the images related to nature–the rain and wind i particular–though I’m not sure why.
This poem reminds me of the song “Imagine” by John Lennon. In fact, as I was reading it, I unconsciously started singing the song in my head. I would highly recommend the song to you; I think it raises a lot of the same questions and hypotheticals that you do: is it too much to ask for a better world? Isn´t it something that´s in our reach? Who wouldn´t want utopia and a perfect world? But in the end the only actions we can control are our own, and no amount of wishing will change things, as you recognize. Only our actions can change the world, so don´t give up!
It occurs to me that you may not have access to the song, so I´m posting the lyrics here. The song came out in 1971.
Imagine
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Thanks for sharing, AG. I really like your references to things in nature – sort of like, what if the earth around us took care of us,
“What if rain washed away hate
And thunderstorms drowned envy for goodness sake
What if the wind was a daily guide
That held your best interest and stayed by your side”
The rhyming creates a good flow, and I also agree that the last line is really cool – actually making the dream a reality, instead of just a dream.
Please keep writing, I look forward to reading more!
-EMily