Redvales One

These children will never conform
never fit in
never sit in neat rows, reciting times tables in tidy uniforms

They will never drive a car
open an ISA, stand in civilised queues
or pay off a mortgage

These children will never get a job, get drunk,
join the army, get laid, get married,
or have children of their own

They will only rely, unable to be relied upon

They will only react with the absolute honesty that the rest of us have crushed

They will only live without a concept of tomorrow
of how to be young, middle-aged, old
of anything other than now

But they will be a gift
for those whose need is to give,
and maybe that’s freedom,
of a sort

 

April 2026

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