Things I Never Knew

of all the things
I ever learned
one thing is really true

the things that hurt me
most in life
were things I never knew

I never knew
how to play the game
in fact I never tried

and when I finally
learned the rules
something inside me died

that the only way
to get it ahead
was to keep someone down

that material things
and the problems they bring
will always make you drown