They teach you nothing

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to value yourself.
how to love yourself.
how to fight.
how to make up.
how to love.
how much to cry.
when to laugh.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
the value of your desires,
the extent of your denial.
to know how much to hurt
before walking away.
How much to fight,
to turn things around.
And, when to give it all up.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to long within,
to put up with abuse,
to taste the salt of tears
and, the pain of bruises
to just make things work.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to know war,
to know death and loss.
Pain and tears.
To obey the call of religion
and the notion of a nation
when your mind and heart rebel.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how a child can lose its innocence
and how dirty hands can touch
its body and soul
and scar an adult for life.
And, what to do after that.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to deal with falsehood
and what to do with truth.
How to taste success
and how to deal with defeat.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
to love your body
and its secrets,
to be a lover
to know love
to exult in aliveness.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to be lonely,
when your bed is empty
and you are jobless
and your self-worth is low
when friends have disappeared
and you feel all alone
and your life is on the rocks.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to raise a child alone.
how to live in a soulless marriage
how to stifle your desires.
and to kill the conversation within.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
About loneliness.
How to wear a mask
and how to take it off.
About pain that cuts the soul.
About empty rooms and money in the bank
And, no one to talk to.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
in the darkest, loneliest hours
what to do with yourself,
how to dig deep within 
to seek the well of wonder and joy
And, to come alive once more.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you how to trust
when trust is lost
when you down on your knees,
when there is nothing left in you
to reclaim yourself from the living dead.
And, to walk alone.

They ought to.
They ought to teach you
how to ride the wave of success.
how to raise a child in gentleness.
how to bask in the sunshine
without guilt or denial.
how to feel good about yourself
And, to offer your hand to another
and to believe in togetherness.

And, yet they teach you nothing.
For, they do not know.

- Srividya Srinivasan 11/08/2015