having the same name
was nothing he cared about
and the absence of rings
I promised
held us tighter together
in choice
rather than any ritual binding
I did not want everything
I was, all I made
swallowed in one piece
into another name
laughing
at my radicalism,
the leap I would not make,
he agreed to the terms
of my nonsurrender
of this small thing
of self
he understood personally
& more clearly
my point
the day one of my daughter’s friends
called him Mr. Daniels
instead of Mr. Will
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I am guessing that last line was a cutting blow, really liking this take on life
You would think it would not be–what’s in a name, and all that–but it really ticked him off.
wonderful as always
Kyle–thanks much!
*like* If I faced such a choice, this is how I’d deal with it.
🙂 worked well for me.
Everything is in a name and for some reason it led to think of all those people who have been colonized and given names that have nothing to do with their cultures because their names couldn’t be pronounced.
Yes, exactly! Naming oneself is a very powerful thing–keeping a name or taking a name says so much about who we are, and who we allow ourselves to be. Having a name forced on oneself for the convenience of another is a terrible thing.
Such an inheritance !
Thanks, Deb!
what is in a name!
history, and power, and…and yet, the essential self does not change, no matter what one calls it.
truly radical!
🙂 but quietly so