A name is born before a child,
long ago in a guardian’s mind.
long ago in a guardian’s mind.
Names carry choices —
some personal, some imposed,
yet they become burdens, they become chains,
echoing the owner's dislike and despair.
Burdened by childhood nicknames,
some personal, some imposed,
yet they become burdens, they become chains,
echoing the owner's dislike and despair.
Burdened by childhood nicknames,
hidden in shame and disgust,
never to be revealed in public.
never to be revealed in public.
Dislike deepens in a pool of names —
some too common, others too rare,
leaving one to wonder:
"Did my parents search hard enough?"
Some stand alone, others hold bold initials,
some stretch long with surnames trailing behind.
A few are short, easy to call and recall,
while others demand a breath to pronounce.
Only a few escape the clutches of clichés.
Most carry caste, creed, religion, or gender,
marking identities before one arrives.
some too common, others too rare,
leaving one to wonder:
"Did my parents search hard enough?"
Some stand alone, others hold bold initials,
some stretch long with surnames trailing behind.
A few are short, easy to call and recall,
while others demand a breath to pronounce.
Only a few escape the clutches of clichés.
Most carry caste, creed, religion, or gender,
marking identities before one arrives.
Before one is heard, before one is seen,
their name comes first —
dragging along prejudices, biases, assumptions, and expectations.
A name is a blueprint one carries everywhere,
used by others to define, dissect, and judge.
Yet, we ask - "What's in a Name?"
their name comes first —
dragging along prejudices, biases, assumptions, and expectations.
A name is a blueprint one carries everywhere,
used by others to define, dissect, and judge.
Yet, we ask - "What's in a Name?"
