Some People Just Won't Learn

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 Poets and Storytellers United

Friday Writings #185

"...find inspiration in the following quote: “Don’t be afraid to start over. This time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience.”


You always make the same mistakes
time and time again.
Hoping your results will change, 
they only bring you pain.

You never learn your lesson
or try a different route.
Never do you pick the nice,
you always choose the lout.

You say you want to change your ways,
you’ve learned from your mistakes.
Then you see a handsome guy
and fail to use your brakes.

I can’t keep listening to you
bemoan your dismal luck.
While I see red flags flying high,
you claim to be love-struck.

I don't believe you ever tried
to start again from scratch.
I see a lazy user,
you see quite the catch. 

Experience is not your friend,
although it is for most.
You proudly introduce your beau,
as though he’s worth the boast. 

Please think it through the next time,
before you jump in deep.
That water might be shallow,
that lover just a creep. 


©2025 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved   

Comments

  1. Rosemary Nissen-WadeJuly 11, 2025 at 7:25 AM

    So many of us this week are put in mind of relationships. If you think your post is similar to mine (and I'm not disagreeing), wait until you read Rall's!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaJuly 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM

      Yet, not in the way I think the quote means! I tended to disagree with it at first read!

      Delete
  2. JimJuly 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM

    Lots of lovers are creeps
    Only time will tell this
    Vouch for that I do tell
    Even nice ones before
    Really nice until sealed
    Song of discouraged me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaJuly 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM

      True. Sometimes we don't know they are until we've invested time. Still, best to move on and start over. Learn from the experience!

      Delete
  3. rallentandaJuly 11, 2025 at 12:11 PM

    You make the point relationships are always user friendly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LisaJuly 11, 2025 at 1:50 PM

      "aren't" user friendly? :)

      Delete
    2. rallentandaJuly 12, 2025 at 6:55 AM

      Oops I meant to say that.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousJuly 13, 2025 at 10:30 AM

      Open-ended relationships are very friendly to people who just want to use the bodies of people who want True Love. Thus, user-friendly but not lover-friendly.

      PK

      Delete
  4. shaun/tenzenmenJuly 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM

    And so it goes.... Nice write.

    ReplyDelete
  5. IntelliblogJuly 12, 2025 at 5:56 AM

    It takes a great deal of experience, common sense and logic to discern the true feelings of another person for us. Add to that the complication of becoming infatuated or being in love with them, so it's no surprise that their true character and intentions towards us is often completely different to what we think - yes we may fall for a creep... But what if instead they are our perfect match? We have to take a calculate risk. Well-written poem!

    ReplyDelete
  6. HelenJuly 12, 2025 at 11:17 AM

    My mother used a great 'expression' ~ stop banging your head against the wall! It always stuck with me, and I wish I could have halted what I knew would be disastrous results for several of my children. But they had to navigate own their own, and did. All the wiser for it. Your poem is beautifully composed, the rhyming perfect!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. J Cosmo NewberyJuly 13, 2025 at 1:19 AM

    Felt a little sad when I read this. I hope reality is shinier...

    ReplyDelete
  8. RommyJuly 13, 2025 at 7:14 AM

    Thank goodness for level headed friends who are there for us when we make bad choices. But I have to believe that there's a middle ground between giddy rose-colored glasses and cynical pragmatism.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Authors with AdviceJuly 13, 2025 at 8:46 PM

    Well written. And so true.

    ReplyDelete
  10. purplepeninportland.comJuly 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM

    Good advice, Lisa

    ReplyDelete

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