If Only

If only the brakes stopped the truck, then I could drive it to work.

But they do not, and it remains in the parking lot.

If only more bolts held the cab to the frame, then the truck would be safer to drive for work.

But just one is fastened, so the truck remains in the parking lot.

If only the truck's frame weren't rusted, I could get the brakes replaced and drive it to work.

But it is, and the truck remains in the parking lot.

If only I'd been duly diligent when truck shopping, then I wouldn't have bought it.

But I wasn't, and now it remains in the parking lot.

If only I had learned from Dad's mistakes of buying pretty-painted junkers, trying to make them last despite Maine's potholes and rust.

But I didn't, and the truck remains in the parking lot.

If only I'd shown more patience when deciding last fall, I could have bought a better car for our family.

But let's be real. Me, patient? duly diligent? wise with money?

If only. But I'm not.

And that truck remains in the parking lot.