Reading · The Poet’s Report

Good Morning,

Today I want to start with a brief ask. I am applying to be the Boulder Poet Laureate and the number of nominations I receive counts! If I am awarded this role, my goal is to bring poetry all over the county, place it on hiking trails, overlooks, open spaces and teach poetry in any and every place I can. After over a decade of teaching and writing, I think I’m qualified for this role and if you are a subscriber to this newsletter, perhaps you think I am too and will nominate me! You can do so here, it is a brief nomination form. Thank you!

And now on to today’s poem.

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it is said in the ancient texts
on jewish mysticism and magic
that a name has great power
in this lineage
the strongest spells
the most effective curses
or rituals for the removal of demons
involve the erasure of a name
first the name is written
in full upon a page
and then letters are removed from either side
until there is nothing left
once the name is erased
the power leaves
the possession ends
the strength is given back
and last week at an open mic
a woman wailed each time
the name of the president
was said aloud
“why did you say that name?”
she cried out when it was uttered
and I started to think
about the power of names
and about how much
his name is said
it is said by hundreds of millions of people
every single day
almost like a spell
almost like a curse
almost like a possession
imagine your name said like this
think about the power that gives
think about how much he is fed
by all our naming
I can’t go into a conversation
with a liberal or conservative
without hearing it
especially by those
who dislike him the most
they feed him too
feed him constantly
meanwhile do they know
the names of each plant in their front yards
do they know the names of the clouds
of the birds in the sky
of that one right now just outside the window
with a sharp first note and then a longer softer one
do you know the names of the birds
who sing outside your window
do you say their names aloud
more than the names of those you despise
we can say the names
of the spruce trees
the ponderosa pines
we can speak to the columbines
the bluebells
the blooming yarrow
the chickadee
the stellar’s jay
the raven
we can learn the names of all the mountains
of the rivers and woods
of everything beautiful
of all that keeps us alive
we can feed this instead of him
let him
like an antique curse
be erased one bit at a time
until there is nothing left
let his name be forgotten

Alexander

This week beyond the paywall, a further discussion of names and a prompt about learning new ones.

In praise of magic and names

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