So much in my life to be grateful for. High on that list would be Olivia, my daughter. I wrote this while reflecting on the day she was born.
Your Name
Why is it that words like these seem dull and cold? Is it because there is no word tender enough to be your name? James Joyce, The Dubliners
Why is it words seem dull and cold?
What haven’t we heard that is not old?
Even “I love you” can tend toward tame
No words are new…then…. your name
It’s barely an instant since you came to be
Yet the past is distant and so strange to me
Mom and you sleep, I walk and thank the Gods
This seems like Eden: a parking garage
But the world’s not the same when you appeared
I am singing your name – yeah, your dad is weird
I am under the sky and hear the breeze in the trees
What do they whisper? Is it Louise? Puhleese!
Olivia
Gentle, flowing but beautifully precise
It’s knowing and glowing and..well..nice
If you say it a waltz will fill your head
And you can’t keep from dancing once it’s been said
Olivia
Your name was not what I had as my choice
But I had no shot – a more adamant voice
Said “Carson?! Get real! She’ll never recover!”
OK – I’m done, I’ll lay off your mother.
(But “Carson? come on, would it have been so awful?
It speaks of being wrong but never unlawful
She’s kind, smart, strong hard to read
Can follow along but, yeah, she’d rather lead)
But once you’d arrived and I cried and I said it
Any other name? No way! Just forget it!
I was completely absolutely wrong-headed
To your mother I’m forever indebted
Olivia
It’s been some time since you made your start
Been some time since you made my heart
Things are less simple yet exactly the same
There is nothing quite like the sound of your name
Olivia
Olivia