Mistakes I've Made A Few Poem by Jim Yerman

I've made a few mistakes in my life. I can say that with aplomb
I wore a blue brocade tux with a top hat and cane to my junior/senior prom.

I once let a beautician curl my hair...now that was really astute!
I thought a curly head of hair would do wonders for my new blue leisure suit.

She said a perm would make my baldness seem fuller and my love life it would prolong.
When it was over it took but one look in the mirror to know that she was wrong.

My hair looked like a rebellious Brillo pad and I'm not being indiscreet
when I say the only female attracted to me was a French Poodle down the street!

In college while out drinking with friends I pretty much sealed my fate
when I cozied up to a pretty cheerleader and asked her for a date.

Was it the alcohol or was it love that made me forget I'd have to contend
With her boyfriend…sitting next to her…
was he the quarterback or a tight end?

I don't remember, but I know my distilled confidence made me feel bold and brave and brash.
What happened next is a bit of a blur...
I woke up face down in the trash.

The point here is we all make mistakes
they await us around every turn.
We shouldn't be afraid to make them
because from them we've so much to learn.

Without mistakes we wouldn't have the chocolate chip cookies so many of us crave.
The slinky would have never been invented...
no post it notes or microwaves.

There would be no penicillin,
no fireworks would ever be seen.
Without mistakes we'd see a straight tower in Pisa
and miss that beautiful lean.

We will try and fail many times in our life,
sometimes we'll crash...
sometimes we'll fly
but the biggest mistake we will ever make...
is when we fail to even try.

True I didn't get a date with the cheerleader
but I still remember to this day
Her smile and that wink she gave me
as her huge boyfriend dragged me away.

I remember that moment with fondness...
I know as a couple we would have been cute.
She, the beautiful cheerleader,
and me in my blue leisure suit.