Thursday, May 16, 2024

Name Dropping - May 13 2024

 

Name Dropping

May 13 2024


I have trouble with names.

Not thingamajigs

and stuff you do what with,

but people

proper nouns

first and last.


I come by this honestly.

Once, my father called me “Blackie”,

our mongrel dog

we wisely named

by the first thing we saw.

He’d reel off the other kids’

in a practiced litany

before hitting on mine.

He was known to have even called my mom

by the wrong name;

luckily

he had a merciful wife.


They say forgetting

is essential to memory.

I take solace in this,

and until I forget myself

I’ll take it in stride.


So I don’t mean to be impolite

if I’m at a loss for yours.

It will come, eventually;

just not, I’m afraid

when I need it most.


No comments: