The Things They Don’t Teach

I wrote a poem inspired by a quote from Neil Gaiman. He writes about the things they don’t teach you at school, the things they can’t teach you at all, really.

The Things They Don’t Teach

I made a list of things
They don’t teach you at school –

They don’t teach you how to disappear
They don’t teach you how to be alone
They don’t teach you how to dream and
Come up short. They don’t teach you
Bad things happen or that heroes
Struggle after victory and war
Continues in their minds.
They don’t teach you how to mend
A broken heart or spare someone
You love the truth. They don’t teach
You anything worth knowing.
But how could they?

© Ben Ditmars 2015