A Lesson in Love

The first time I fell in love
I told my Mom, blushed.
She didn't know if she should laugh at me
Or cringe at my cheeks flushed.

The second time I fell in love
I kept it to myself.
Found solace in the dusty old
Messy, stuffed bookshelf.

The third, fourth (and fifth and sixth)
Were found between pages
Love came in various shades and
Genders and ages.

Then the seventh made me spin
Words into odes, ballads
And I sighed in longing
Starved myself on salads.

To the eighth, I wrote several
Letters of love unposted
And when I did address them
Got royally ghosted.

The ninth and tenth were nothing new
But I cut them little hearts
Ugly little uneven ones
Rough-edged in parts.

The eleventh got prettier hearts
With little notes in red.
Quite eloquent, too much so
The writing went over his head.

Lessons, I tell you, training, these-
Unrequited love, God bless!
Thanks to them I wield a pen
And scissors with finesse.