Names – a poem by Jenna K Funkhouser

Names

There will
be days
when you
misplace
the name
that others
call you

even
the names
you called
yourself

and when
it happens,
it is no
use shouting
for them
like a dog
who is far
from home.

It is no use
posting
notices on
telephone poles

or offering
rewards
for their safe
return.

The recollected
self is a
timid thing.

She will
creep in
with her
honest names

whisper
lurking motives
in your ear

hint to you
your greatest
infatuations

only when
she knows
you are
listening;

only when
your heart
is soft enough
to be
dug open

in such
a way
as to
germinate
and ripen
into wisdom

to send
down roots
and wait to see
what other names
will sprout up 
and surprise 
us all.

Jenna K Funkhouser is a poet and author living in Portland, Oregon, always trying to cross through the membrane of the sacred surrounding us. Her poetry has recently been published by Geez Magazine, the Saint Katherine Review, Ekphrastic Review, and As It Ought To Be, among others.