Knowing and then learning

There is a fundamental difference between knowing and learning
You knew it so well that he would arrive..
You could almost see him at your doorstep
You almost heard him knocking.
You learn that was not to be.
You learn he changed his mind!

There is a also a difference between
What you learn from what they say
And what you learn on your own. 
They say mothers are caring, giving, nurturing
They confer sainthood on every mother!
You learn mothers are normal human beings 
They can get selfish much like you and I.
They only learn, each day, to be a mother
For some, it takes a lifetime. 

There are somethings you learn early on

And others, take a lot of time.

You quickly get the point some time 

At others, you take years!

Some mistakes you make again and again
It seems you will never learn. 
You get angry and almost give up on yourself
You want to kick the proverbial "you know what"!

But such is our learning curve

Almost never linear.

And knowing is different than learning

For I always knew, if you climb uphill 

You have to climb down.

But the other day when we went climbing a hill
I found a plateau there. 
Exactly the same as that was there below the hill. 
I kept looking for a slope downhill. There was none.
It made me nervous
Will I never get back to the ground I left behind?
And the sky still seemed very far! 
This space in between, that was earth, but no earth
Sky and still no sky, left me puzzled for hours.
But you then learn you can go on 
Even when earth and sky both get far
You know, there is still a way to carry on.

And you know in your heart of heart
You don't need to worry even if you are just a muggle
Even if you have forgotten all your magic
You know, you can still somehow jostle, sneak, impel
And elbow that little place.....to breathe.  
You would do it. For you know, you can.