Dear Parents and Caregivers of Young Learners,

I am writing this piece asking you to encourage the young people in your care to make mistakes. Before you spill your coffee, or blink in disbelief, please understand that the mistakes I am calling for are risks that help to explore potential. These risks include trying something new or attempting a difficult task. Growth comes from exploration. The poem Mistakes seeks to encourage us to learn from our struggles. See you soon – Bob

Mistakes

Oh those mistakes
We wish that were made
While playing it safe
And excepting what’s staid
Looking back to those junctures
When given a choice
To sing for the heavens
But instead lost our voice

An awkward smile
Perhaps a few tears
Accompanies those trials
As we move past dark fears
For a shot never taken
Can’t lead to a goal
It’s the mistakes in this life
That help make us whole

Oh those mistakes
So far and so few
Could lead to a blessing
If only one knew
But over and over
The same hand was kept
While the players exalted
Most onlookers wept

An awkward smile
Perhaps a few tears
Accompanies those trials
As we move past dark fears
For a shot never taken
Can’t lead to a goal
It’s the mistakes in this life
That help make us whole

Bob Houghtaling is the substance abuse prevention and mental health director for the Town of East Greenwich as well as a lover of poetry.

Photo by Chuttersnap / Unsplash