What If There Were No What Ifs?

If there were no What Ifs,
there would be no diamonds
dancing with light,
because no one would have asked,
“What if I cut that chunk of carbon?”

There would be no flute trills
floating across concert halls,
because no one would have asked,
“What if I blew into that hollow animal bone?”

We wouldn’t know
that the inside of an eggshell is a web of delicate threads,
or that jars of pond water throng with tiny lives,
or that grains of sand are as unique as snowflakes,
because no one would have asked,
“What if I looked through that shard of crystal?”

There would be no phones,
because no one would have asked,
“What if I could talk to friends too far away to see?”

There would be no planes,
because no one would have asked,
“What if we could fly?”

What will happen when you ask What If?