What’s in a Name
What's in a Name?
Of character,
There is a sustained acceptance,
A defiance
And a patience,
That understands the umbilical chord
Between the beginning and the end.
Time sculptures each face
with chisel and spike,
Mixes it's charismatic dye
In the eyes of man;
Spits blood
And forms teardrops of mud,
Then hands it to us as manna,
And labels it "love".
Who am I?
Who are you?
Where are we, really?
And if this be all our experience
Has sustained,
Let us have our moment,
And make ourselves
Something special,
Something worthy of our name.
About this poem
This poem was inspired by a portrait of my friend’s father (a Holocaust survivor). Her father’s physiognomy so impressed me - his compassion yet stoic strength and gentlemanly attitude - that I gifted her this poem in a hand written form. It now hangs on her wall under the portrait.
Written on April 30, 2023
Submitted by dm.mcnamara on March 27, 2024
Modified by dm.mcnamara on March 27, 2024
- 35 sec read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A XBBBXX XXCXDDXX CXXBXXXXA |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 542 |
Words | 117 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 8, 9 |
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Citation
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"What’s in a Name" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/183816/what’s-in-a-name>.
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