Illustration by Isidro Xilonzochitl for my book Sock Talk

“Nomenculture”

The names called across playgrounds in 1952
were “Lynn and Rita, Sharon, Karen, Sheila, Portia, Sue”.
But the kinds of names that mothers now choose for their daughters
are all names we never called out from our teeter-totters.

“Emma, Ava, Mia, Hannah, Isabella, Addison, 
Sophia and Olivia, Amelia and Madison,
Harper, Lily, Mia” are the sorts of names girls call
out to one another via texts or in the mall.

“Harper, Ella, Mia, Emily and Abigail”
are the names that girls today most commonly use to hail
each other on their smart phones via tweets or via text.
It’s hard to predict what may be the names that moms might next

choose to call their daughters.  Perhaps Venus, Saturn, Mars
will be the sort of names our daughters’ daughters call from cars.
Modern names for modern girls–– monikers so cool
that giving names like Betty, Pat or Judy would seem cruel.

Today, names must be Biblical or characters from Austen.
Or the names of cities from Madison to Boston.
“Judy” is a boring name, silly, old-fashioned, dull––
the sort of name that nowadays never makes the cull.

Those of my generation may seem rather out of date,
perhaps because of how we dress, our language or our weight.
Some women opt for face-lifts, saying wrinkles are to blame,
but I think it would be easier to simply change my name.

The Prompt: Say Your Name––Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself? https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/say-your-name/