Rare Birds

Do cuckoos know they are cuckoos,
more than other bird species know themselves?
Even as cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds nests?

Of course not! Not that scientists have to know
all the mechanisms by which the cuckoo fools
the bird of a different breed, in whose nest
the cuckoo lays its own, rather larger, egg.

So it is for humans who are born to parents
who when their child becomes an adult
finds the idea of being a parent repugnant,
such that should they ever become parents,
their child may be safer removed from them.

Whilst in their own terms many non-parents
have different energies and skills, and are fine
as participants in their own communities,
they should be treasured, like rare birds:
whilst they are relieved of the pressure
to join the common herd of parenthood.     

Before And After

Before judging others for who they are
and what they should have done 
know yourself for who you are:
whoever that is, they will guide you
through different judgements in ways
you will only recognise after.

File Under Frustrated.....

It is odd that it has taken me so long
to find the labels by which others find me,
not that they say the terms out loud.

Whether they are the precise terms or not,
look for me under....

Depressed, Gay, Socialist, Attempted Christian
and Long Term Unemployed/Unemployable.

As all these labels jostle and stymie each other,
making me that uniquely low achiever
for brevity's sake file me under Frustrated..............

Emotional Intelligence

Sometimes forgiveness
is a matter of emotional intelligence.

That is to say the forgiver
reads the character of who are forgiving
with greater maturity
than the forgiven
can read for themselves.