Cuckoo Lament

The cuckoo was a simple bird
Putting faith in every word
Accepting the veracity
Of cuckoo-held philosophy

To raise a future generation
Requires no thought or contemplation
After the delight of mating
Follows a week or two of waiting
Then at last the egg is laid
In a nest found ready-made
The fuss of procreation done
Fly away and sing in the sun

No cuckoo since the world began
Can explain or understand
The frantic life of others
The fluttering of feathers
The lyric of the sparrow song
That mothers' work is never done

So at length there came a day
When the search for a place to lay
The precious egg was all in vain
For naught but cuckoos now remained
The hen sought place of incubation
Then to the cock came inspiration
There, a fluffy little cloud
Floated high and floated proud
Resembling a downy nest
The reader may surmise the rest
How the egg, laid while in flight
Fell within the downy fluff
And how once fallen out of sight
It smashed upon the rocky bluff

Thus the cuckoos passed away
Beware for so may you one day
For living on the toil of others
Is not confined to the realm of feathers
You think that plenty will never end
But have a care my foolish friend
Lest it be said that you, yes you
Have become 'cloud-cuckoo' too