Wild Child

To be a wild child

Is not a romantic thing;

(Elves and fairies take us)

Not when you know it 

From the inside.

Are all children born wild?

Like a young horse.

Is tameness a thing you learn?

(Or must you be broken?)

Is becoming civilized,

Becoming a good citizen,

A thing children desire?

Or is it a thing perpetrated

On a free entity 

For the sake of survival?

(Does socialization break children?)

Do you recall a time when

You wanted to please your parents.

(When you really loved them)

A time when you were very good.

You listened, and learned

How to be polite 

And respectful of others.

In a perfect world

That earns a child

Parental approval and 

(Unconditional love)

Something close enough to love

To pass for it - with a little denial.

But the world is not perfect

And too often our parents are not wise.

(Children rearing children)

Sometimes no matter your efforts, 

It is not enough, never enough.

When your best efforts and intentions

Are not enough

And your parents 

Blatantly fail you, 

Despite their best efforts and intentions

(Heartbreak)

You turn to other children.

And the wild child is born.

That is the worst way 

To become socialized.

(The wild taming the wild) 

That is the very essence

Of the blind leading the blind

Of ,'I fell in with a bad crowd'.

(Bullying)

In this situation 'being bad'

Really meant being entertaining

Friends seemed to like you best

When you acted out.

Like a fool. Like a devil.

Lose your Family.

And you need your friends. 

But they were not wise counsel.

They were as much fools

As we. (Young idiots.)

Wildness is really a need

To be loved by friends

Anxiety, acted out. (Class clown.)

There is only one good reason

To explore these things

The things we did as children

Things that we could judge 

(And condemn)

Things we sometimes torture ourselves with.

Understanding. It allows 

Self forgiveness.

Were you a wild child too?