Documented, spoken
The prime identifier.
If they’re not going to get your face
They’ll get your name for sure.
A thing not chosen by you
Passed down from above
Conveyed that first time, in hushed tones
- oh, quilted in a soft blanket,
family gushing and cooing,
then - you. The unshakable title.
We wonder if people judge.
Something as a vapid as a name,
superficial, made up.
Does a name carry the weight of history,
and of bias, on its letter shoulders?
Will we be predetermined?
The vanity of orating your title -
feeling overly proud.
A different name, imagine that!
One fake - or would it be?
For a name floats in the ether
of society: not a tattoo inked on the skin.
Oct 21, 2025
Oct 21, 2025 at 7:02 PM UTC
Documented, spoken
The prime identifier.
If they’re not going to get your face
They’ll get your name for sure.
A thing not chosen by you
Passed down from above
Conveyed that first time, in hushed tones
- oh, quilted in a soft blanket,
family gushing and cooing,
then - you. The unshakable title.
We wonder if people judge.
Something as a vapid as a name,
superficial, made up.
Does a name carry the weight of history,
and of bias, on its letter shoulders?
Will we be predetermined?
The vanity of orating your title -
feeling overly proud.
A different name, imagine that!
One fake - or would it be?
For a name floats in the ether
of society: not a tattoo inked on the skin.
I think I got inspiration for this from when I saw a van whose text on the side bore my name. It, just for a moment, made me dwell on the nature of my name: the way it came off my and others’ tongues, how people perceived firstly with the affix of my name, probably before anything else. Our names are intrinsically tied to our identities but in these tumultuous times, who needs to stick to a name?