Youth: A Poem

If youth is the practice
of learning from faults
caused by lack of wisdom,
then it seems we'll never grow up.

We trip over our words,
bruise our egos,
and jump to conclusions
like they're large rocks in a river
that we use to cross to the other side.
Sometimes we slip and fall.

We make mistakes.
Scratches and sores
sully our fresh, green souls,
but the young often heal quickly.
Our forgiveness is elastic and quickly grown.

From my book Woodland Spirits. This is one of the earliest poems I wrote for it. While my style might have improved since then, the last stanza (and the last line especially) is still one of my favorites.