Today's poem is by Kelli Russell Agodon

The Naming of Things
       

There is a woman we call Flock of Seagulls
        who hangs out with a man we call Liza Minnelli's Wig
                and sometimes, they walk a dog we call The Saint
        of Nothing Special past a tree we call The Dying Mad
in a park we call Stinky Beach which is always windy
        or what we call Doing the Fandango in God's Breath
                near a salmon run we call The Last Hoorah
        that leads to a body of water we call
the Plastic Convention on a planet
        we call the Sad Spinning Rock
                in a universe we call Liberace's Closet
        and when I mention I haven't seen Liza Minnelli's
Wig recently while I sip what we call
        Melville's First Mate while we are half-dressed
                in our underwear we call the Opposite
        of Mrs. Robinson's Leopard Print
Lingerie while typing on our Escape Window
        or staring at our Magic Rectangle
                and you say, He's moved back to Succotash,
        what we call Seattle, because he's taking
care of Judy Garland, what we call
        his mom and I say, Put down the knitting,
                the book, and the broom, which is what
        I say when we need stop letting the Dark
Monocle, what I call depression,
        remind us that the Sad Spinning Rock has
                rotated another day into the Graveyard,
        which is what I call the calendar,
so I say, Let's go, Eeyore, and you say,
        I'm sorry, Mrs. Dalloway, I've got to
                take care of my Old Lady in the Window,
        which is what you call your soul, so we
stay in Utopia which is what we call
        our bed and glimpse the Sad Spinning Rock
                from the sliding glass door or what we call
        Invisible Shields Cause of Broken Noses
and if I listen closely, I hear the Saint of
        Nothing Special barking in God's Breath
                and probably peeing on The Dying Mad
        before breaking away and jumping recklessly
into the Last Hoorah.

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Copyright © 2024 Kelli Russell Agodon All rights reserved
from Salt Hill
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission