If there is no if
all the dreams will wither
like blooming flowers framed
in a drying field.

If there is no if
all the stories will freeze
like waterfalls fallen
into a sudden ice age.

If there is no if
the mind will darken
like a painted cave buried
on the broken Silk Road.

If there is no if
the heart will mummify
like a lotus seed hidden
in a weathered pyramid —

waiting to be planted again
in the mud of life.