Names

I failed to keep up with the last writing Novena, so I am trying to keep up with this one. Our prompt is to write a dream poem or a poem about something that is overheard.

Overheard at Starbucks: "Iced latte for Eunice" 1/9

When our parents name us
When they bestow a name
It is a spell never to be broken
No kiss can wake us from our name
It is a star that guides us
Or a stone chained to our feet.
So consider a name carefully.
Imagine it spoken by teachers
On those first nerve-wracking days
Or whispered into an ear by a lover.
Imagine it on a police blotter.
Imagine it in an obituary,
Or a newspaper headline.
Make it flexible so it doesn't constrain
Make it loose so it can be shed like a snake's skin.
Or, at the very least,
Make it beautiful if spoken in Spanish.