Starry Eyed

If I had a better flag, I would have given it to you,
if it had better stars and stripes, I would have counted them for you,
if it wasn't torn and tattered the way beautifully painful things often are,
then I would rip it apart at the seams,
for you and only you

If I had a photograph instead of this flimsy little triangle, I would have given it to you,
if it had sharper edges, I would have pointed them away from you,
if it wasn't in the name of tradition, and in some ways the Holy Ghost,
then I would have treated it like the abandoned sandwich it was,
and I would have put it through the looking glass,
for you and only you

If I had something more to say, I would have said it to you,
if I had the memory of when he was fearless in his existence,
if I had the wherewithal to tell you about our bunk beds in the desert,
and that we all knew we were going to die sooner rather than later,
I would have told this, I would have done this,
for you and only you

If I could go back and make different decisions, the way people often wish they could,
then I would talk you out of the heroics that come with being a hero by choice,
then I would remind you that your life had been multiple choice all along,
if I could do any and all of the above, I would,

for you

and only you.