If Then Else

a poem by thenorm

If Then Else

If I give you room to breathe,

If I let your victories be yours;

(Your defeats, your joys, your dreams,

Must all belong to you)

Then, perhaps, you’ll return in kind.

If the tears I watch you cry are yours,

And if your smile remains for you,

Then perhaps my longing to hold you

Will simply be

Because I want to hold you,

Not because I need you

To Be Okay.

If we do not treat one another

As we would be treated,

Then, we will falter;

Then, we will fail.

This, then, we must,

Else we must not be.