If Only

If only I had a minute, 

An hour, 

A day,
A moment.

If only I knew

How to love others as I loved myself

And cared enough to care 

About those I left in the wind. 

If only I knew

That when I brought life

My life was no longer my own

And the world was no longer mine.

If only I recognized  

That a love of a mother is never enough

If it's missing that of the father.

One does not substitute for the other.

If only I understood

That education was not only mine

That it was my duty to extend to them  

As had been done for me from mine.

If only I admitted 

That I loved the people 

So they could love me back

And make me the big man in town.

If only I could have forecast

That I would spend it all

Including theirs 

And leave me with hands outstretched. 

If only I had said 

What I didn't know to say
But said it anyway, 

Or just listened.

If only I had 

One minute, one moment 

To start again 

To make it right.

If only...