Learning Curve

by Stuart McFarlane / April 6th, 2025

When all is right with the world
there is only one sure thing.
The fact that it could all
go wrong tomorrow.
Like they say;
shares can go down as well as up.
The longer I live
the less do I seem to learn;
or, at least, the more I unlearn.
Realizing Santa isn’t real;
it all goes downhill from there.
Rainbows lose their colour;
ice cream bells cease to chime.
No more do you root for the good guys.
Spiderman is not so cool!
There is no short cut, they tell you.
You gotta pass your exams.
Yet, you, too, could be a ‘Youtube’ star;
all you need’s a guitar!
Just become a footballer.
Earn ten million a week!
Then, as the years slip by,
you understand it isn’t true;
that it isn’t true for you.
You soon learn that,
though things might be bad,
they can always get worse.
That you will never ever
be sure of anything again.
There was a time; as they say.
But that time, it’s long gone.
So learn to embrace doubt.
It is all there is.
The only truth is
in what you don’t know.
And the only certainty; uncertainty.

Stuart McFarlane has spent many years, both abroad and in the UK, teaching English. In the UK this mainly involved teaching Esol to refugees and asylum seekers. He is now semi-retired and so can devote more time to writing poetry. He has had poems published in local magazines and online publications such as 'Borderless Journal', based in Malaysia and 'Culture Matters' and 'The Recusant', based in the UK. Read other articles by Stuart.

This article was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.