Common Cuckoo (second draft)

Common Cuckoo
by Kevin Wasden
© June 2020

I am a common cuckoo

     Destructive and deceitful,

          Blameless by nature.

My father and his family

     They think me theirs

         In spite of my stature,

              In spite of my paleness,

                  Despite the prudence in my eyes.

The truth in my blood

     Disconnects me--

          Twice a bastard child.

That which I hold is not mine,
And that which is mine I’ve never known.