Cuckoo's
Wild call at dawn,
Hiding in mango trees,
Stealing a nest that isn't hers,
Smart bird!
Copyright © 2026 by Crystal David John
Like an addled cuckoo that garbles
the birdsong that he warbles,
I've experienced many strains.
I've got gremlins in my brains,
and I've lost my marbles.
eggs laid in the nest
the cuckoo has lazy days -
process is complete
Old gray cuckoo bird
With her slender so slight mind
Dwells in low levels
Come on. I know one thing is for sure,
some people have taken me for fool.
From the beginning anything odd?
Awesome to me before it was cool.
Sharing with whoever would listen,
daring I just did what I wanted to do.
Pairing things that just go together,
staring I always see the flair in cuckoo.
It suddenly occurred to me,
in a moment
of rare clarity,
that there are women
who buy cuckoo-clock
puzzles,
and then,
there are women
who assemble them.
I am proudly,
the second type,
even if that makes me
belong inside
the clock.
I feel terrible
for whomever
assembles these
inglorious bastards,
aka lasered wooden
pieces (from H-E-
double toothpicks).
That spells Hell
for the slower
readers following along
at home.
I have already
scrounged around,
twice,
on my hands and knees
looking for pieces
that popped off.
Meanwhile,
I ask myself:
“how did I get here?
Is this life?”
If so, I am happy
and the clock
makes sense,
even if life doesn’t
cuckoo,
or announce the hour
on time.
If I invented a cuckoo clock
It would say “Have fun!’
Not on the hour
Maybe four times an hour
Every fifteen minutes
It might say “Have fun!"
" Do Something fun!”
" Be fun!"
" Be you!”"
Because many people forget to do what they need to do the most
so lovely bright green
Asian Emerald Cuckoo
bonny fair color
the cuckoo is a lazy trickster
she lays her eggs in bush warbler’s nest
remember Mayzie LaBird in Dr. Seuss’s book Horton Hears the Who?
Bush warbler is tricked by cuckoo bird.
She thinks the eggs are hers.
Takes care of them until they hatch
And then raises cuckoo’s baby as her own.
Cunning cuckoo, craftily creeping,
Cackling, cawing, constantly cheating!
Clocks keep clanging, chiming, churning,
Cuckoo’s call--chaotic, concerning!
Cranky critters, clueless, confused,
Chased the cheater--cleverly bruised!
Cuckoo, chuckling, cheekily flew,
Claiming nests like cuckoos do!
Wouldn’t trust that cuckoo chap--
Crafty con artist with a claptrap trap!
still bright orange rinds around juice,
mixing with a few very green leaves,
mixing ultimately with fried rice
and chicken; no peas or carrots.
finally in the mouth, hands
letting go of virtual reality,
face cleansed of sweat;
finally eating at two o’clock.
yes…yes, earlier hot chocolate
with teeny tiny marshmallows.
wake up time was ten o’clock.
the cuckoo clock, doesn’t tattle;
stays silent. at my grandma’s house,
the little birdy checked on us,
not only on the hour with
subsequent cuckoos,
but every half hour too.
The one which lives on trees
The one which makes heart melt
Just with its voice.
The one which is abandoned by mom
The one which is bullied
Just because of its colour
Do you know who it is?
Patty Lou said hello, I am cuckoo
then she giggled like it was a joke
I did not know what to make of her
my strategy was to avoid her
but we were on a bus trip
one night we were the only ones awake
we had a lovely chat for hours
my husband says I am nutty, she said.
I think you are pretty well-balanced I told her.
but she insisted she was a brainless airhead.
Her husband woke up and patted her hand.
He had a huge smile, I guess they liked thinking that.
Let's keep this just between me and you
If the rest of the world only knew
They'd examine my brain
And they might think I'm sane
But my friends all know I'm wackadoo
Does the wolf still prowl
within our sheepish dreams,
or is it now a cuckoo nesting comfortably
deep and sly behind our eyes?
Give me the wolf any day,
for that secretive bird has grown fat,
it nestles, it fluffs out a sick complacency,
it has become too large for its small nest.
The wolf hides
it gnaws at its old teeth,
wanes thin with fear.
Soon the cuckoo will coo & cook, cluck
like a brooding hen birthing
yet another changeling.
Soon the wolf will leave you helpless
and that which was never you
will become the triumphant image
of your broken soul.
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