If You / Then We
If you are leaving Mohr and Mohme for Brighton
then we are iron and steam
and if you are walking alone at night
then we are moon and Dog Star
and if you are suffering with first-night nerves
then we are Hamlet and Ophelia
and if you are grieving Franziska and Musch
then we are Jennychen and Hottentot
and if you are agonizing with self-abnegation
then we are truth and courage
and if you are unable to see the light
then we are tunnel’s end
and if you are wearing white for winter
then we are white camellia
and if you are saying that love is out of reach
then we are saying we are at rock-bottom without you
Mark A. Murphy is the editor of the online journal, POETiCA REViEW. His poetry collections include Tin Cat Alley (1996), Our Little Bit of Immortality (2011), Night-watch Man & Muse (2013), To Nora, A Singer of Sad Songs (2019), and Night Wanderer’s Plea (2019). His next full length collection, The Ontological Constant is due out in June (2020).