We are taught a lot in school

growing-up

history, numbers, logic

Up to two decades of

problem solving

exams

goals

yet here I am

at thirty-four

and cannot remember learning

how to move past heartbreak.

I have lost many friends to

the sinister virgin of selfishness

and still

I cannot recall the lesson

instructing me on how to cease giving;

was made to memorize virtues

with no guide regarding their use

 

I was protected as a child

overly so

shrouded from brutal reality

smothered to a halt

 

Sadly, I wish I wasn’t

for new paths now seem overwhelming

as I feel

I wasn’t prepared for this

for life

 

now I know

education

is not learned in books

 

 

-  af

 

 

 

(written with pen on paper)