Coffee stains on the newspaper because I was always so messy
Illuminating the stories that hit close to home, drawing emotions I had no interest in possessing
Lipstick smears on the cheek of a young man because I was always so quick to trust
Allowing him access to the depths of my soul surrounding my heart and mind
Stinging scrapes up my legs because I was always so clumsy
Falling off of my bike countless times, though I should've learned the first time that the turn was too dangerous to master
Paper cuts scattered about my hand because I always turned the pages too quickly
With full awareness that I'd hurt myself because of the sharp edges, but I couldn't wait to keep reading because I was infatuated with the books and how the stories would end
Bleeding lips because I always bit on them when I was anxious
Despite the pain and unappealing appearance, my nerves took control so I never learned to kick the dreadful habit
And seventeen years of my life
Seventeen years of mistakes
Seventeen years of trouble
And I still haven't learned my lessons because I'll continue to be careless about my shaky hands holding my coffee in the morning
And I'll still fall for boys who say all of the right things
And I'll keep riding my bike around the sharp curve because I am not afraid of it
And I'll keep turning the pages too quickly because the story is worth the paper cuts
And I'll keep biting my lip when I'm nervous because it's all I know when everything is overwhelming me
And I'll keep making mistake after mistake
Because all of these things have become routine to me
And I would not know myself
If I was more cautious
So seventeen years of lessons unlearned leave me fighting to the very end
Crashing over every bump on the road