If Only

If only it would stop raining all the time 

If only the honey bees weren’t in peril 

If only I could hear better at the movies 

If only Clifton would get a First Watch (Panera) 

If only they raised the minimum wage to $16

If only more of my shirts had pockets

If only the county fair had more rabbits 

If only Facebook would stop spreading hatred 

If only my line dancing class met more often

If only they found a cure for Parkinson’s

If only the years wouldn’t speed by so quickly 

If only postage stamps still cost a dime 

If only our sheepdogs came back to life

If only they’d get rid of the Electoral College 

If only Cincinnati’s air were purer

If only I was better at small talk

If only my wife would like to go camping 

If only the trolley ran to Clifton 

If only a million species didn’t face extinction

If only Elizabeth, Bernie, and Joe were two decades younger 

If only our phone company could get rid of scam calls

If only our family weren’t all far away

If only Netanyahu favored a two-state solution

If only they’d bring back Patti Page 

If only the doctor would renew my Ambien prescription 

If only ice cream was good for you 

If only I walked 10,000 steps every day

If only our arts center could find a new home 

If only the Enquirer actually covered the news 

If only the Bengals would win the Super Bowl 

If only my brothers were still alive 

If only Sherrod Brown had run for president 

If only our sink would stop getting clogged

If only I understood more about Zen Buddhism

If only I could run as fast as when I was 13

If only I could speak to my parents one more time 

If only the Easter Bunny turned out to be real 

If only…