Lincoln

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BEARD: THE IDEA OF AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL!"

to be named

We are named from birth
Before we are known
and in the moment
When we seek knowledge
We are asked to name ourselves.
You, seeker of knowledge
Name your path
Place a name in your moment
Of acceptance of how little you know
Of how difficult it is to say what something is
You must name yourself
Something no one
Except maybe yourself
Can know
And in a moment
Of self discovery and change
You must freeze it all in a word

So I do not
I freeze it in two
One for who I was long ago
(Though shades of who I am)
And another for who I am becoming
An expression at once
Of stasis and change

Date: June 7, 2006 5:34:23 PM EDT
Subject: Poem Topic: choosing a Jewish name

Tohuvabolu

The morning commute
A mix of slow thought and fast movement
Like an old recipe
Familiar and without thought
Like an old familiar friend
Forgot to ask what's new
Because it never is
And when it is
You never knew
Never asked
Moved through the conversation
Like a crowd of strangers
That you know well enough
To predict and avoid
Pass by with minimal contact
Conversation held high
To escape depth
It so slows us down
Connecting
When our mind is on movement
It does not land
And the one you passed by
Is stranger now
Former friend forgotten
Misplaced
In the busy life
That moves
So fast
That everything stops