too soft

the following is repeated but unrepeatable.

*

the hardest thing

you must learn

is that you will not

always be hard

and then

wrecked ruined and runny

you will find you have learned

nothing

but still lost

too much

*

the most difficult thing

to learn will be

that they will

not love

and you will not learn

still and still

and still and

*

the most difficult lessons

will be that they will

find new love

in your old ways

and you will ask

in a voice that is barely

carrying forward but still does

what changed

*

i have spent my life

trying to love

and understanding in small leaking handfuls

that no matter what

sometimes

it was not enough

even if i was