If only

if only, the only

megalomaniacs

dwelled in subterranean fortresses,

wore collarless black suits,

endlessly stroking

white persian cats

cradled in their laps.

if only, disaster could be averted

by correctly choosing

to snip the red wire before the green

and the flashing numbers

counting down on the device,

froze just in time.

if only, evil did not spill

from the gleaming suites

of downtown office towers

or spew forth from a podium

an odium of lies into

a hungry bank of microphones.

if only, the quiet wannabes

brewing hatred in their souls

were not concealed

behind the bland facades

of their bland suburban homes.

if only, vile intentions

were visible on a face

undisguised by suits and ties

or souvenir t-shirts,

baseball caps or uniforms.

if only, crime did not hide

at the dinner table,

in the bedroom

or the boardroom

on the sunlit urban plaza

or dark playground

behind the country school.

if only, the villains were confined

to situations that could be

accompanied by popcorn

if only.