I Blame It on the Teachers

I Blame It on the Teachers

I blame it on the teachers who told me what was right,
Who filled my head with questions and my notebooks full of life,
They taught me how to read the words and how to make them rhyme,
But never warned me love could steal your heart and waste your time.

They taught me about history, the battles and the kings,
The dates of old discoveries and all those clever things,
But nobody explained to me the language of the heart,
Or how someone can love you while they’re tearing you apart.

They taught me multiplication, subtraction, adding too,
But never taught the equation of what somebody might do,
There isn’t any textbook that can tell you who to trust,
Or how to tell the difference between love and empty lust.

They taught me geography, the oceans and the land,
But not how far a broken heart can travel when it’s damned,
They taught me all the capitals, the countries far away,
But never where to find yourself after a painful day.

Perhaps I should blame the teachers, though they did their very best,
They gave me books and knowledge and they taught me how to test,
But life became the classroom where the hardest lessons grew,
And every broken chapter taught me something new.

I learned that people change and promises can bend,
That sometimes strangers hurt you, sometimes family pretend,
I learned that being honest doesn’t mean you’ll never cry,
And sometimes saying goodbye is the bravest word to try.

I learned that love isn’t always wrapped in roses bright,
Sometimes it arrives softly and sometimes it starts a fight,
Sometimes it makes you fearless, sometimes it makes you scared,
And sometimes you discover that you were stronger than you dared.

So maybe I don’t blame them for the lessons they forgot,
Because some things can’t be taught inside a classroom’s little box,
You learn them through experience, through laughter, loss and pain,
And sometimes after thunder, you appreciate the rain.

So thank you to the teachers who gave me what they knew,
For every page they opened and every lesson they taught me too,
But life became my teacher, and its lessons weren’t always fair,
Yet somehow through the hardest ones, I learned that I still care.