I am called Annie A Lander.
Perhaps my mother believed
This name would be fitting for me,
But my father disagreed; he felt
I should bear the name of a goddess,
Such as Sarasvati, who embodies many souls.
I share my thoughts and ideas like wildflowers,
Dispersing my seeds with the breeze from the west,
Due to the Goddess Annie,
While the rivers gather my tears, so near to the ocean.
My father recognized the longing
And the pain and fear reflected in my eyes.
He remarked to my mother,
"What significance does a name hold, Esther May?"
With tears welling in her eyes,
She embraced my fragile body tightly.
What significance a name carries is strength and power.
Cronin started writing—
Prescriptions and papers,
Ended up writing fiction.
I started teaching and, eventually, came to write poetry,
I’m tempted, by vanity, to think
That I am prompted by the thought fox,
Or Pegasus or Muse(s), or Sarasvati.
Or am a catalyst in the crucible,
Or a victim of freeplay.
Or am deafened—both by echoes and ageing;
Or am – subliminally – trying to outwit a precursor.
All this tickles my fancy!
Whatever I may be, say or, do, in this new avatar,
I am free of the burden of footnoting, free to plagiarize,
Free to take liberties with grammar.
Great relief!
***
This poem found an honorable mention in the poetry contest entitled Avatar, sponsored by Line Gauthier, December 15, 2017.
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