Poem: I have many names

By Tagen Rowe

Tagen is a photographer and artist (and the reason our social media looks so good!) She decided to try her hand at writing a poem, exploring the various identities that she perceives others know her by. It’s a powerful reflection and might cause you to ask: what names do you have?

My son calls me Mummy.

Healer of bumps and bruises,
With a kiss and a rub. 

He comes to me for comfort
In the early hours.
While the sun sleeps
Through the everlasting days.
Hands twisted in my hair,
Tears on swollen cheeks 
Pressed against my face. 

My son calls me Pirate.

Storyteller, 
Dinosaur,
Bear,
Lion.
I am strength. 

My husband calls me Wife.

Lover,
Confidante,
Teller of bad jokes.
Determined to a fault.
Messy and Brave.

In “sickness and in health” 
Was never more apt a description
For the undetermined marriage that lay ahead.

I am called the Impatient Patient,
Irritable Invalid.
Harsh truths in tough times where the best parts of me become
Hidden
Behind names not meant for me.

My husband calls me Friend.

Team-mate, Co-parent, Co-worker.
Compound adjectives describe our roles.
Collaboratively raising a child,
We are both named Parent.

My mother calls me Sarcastic.

Anxious,
Talented;
A tortured creative.
One who makes choices she can’t understand.

Mundane experiences aren’t lesser an experience,
Because they aren’t what you would have chosen.

Beautifully Boring.
Charismatically Conventional.
Bewitchingly Bland.
Seeking small highs from alliteration.

My brother calls me Caring.

Sharer of puns, meals and time.
Antagonising,
Overbearing,
Wholesome,
Kind. 

It is easy to overlook 
Illness,
Mistakes,
Regrettable choices
When you call the Offender “Sister”. 

My doctors call me Broken.

A puzzle unsolved;
Too hard for the too hard basket.
Mental, physical, who knows?

Fat comes first,
Health comes second.
Half truths are answers enough
When conditions are under-researched.
Underfunded and
Unimportant. 

My community calls me Burden.

Taxpayers debate my worth.
Disabled,
Able enough,
Not able enough,
No value without contribution. 

God calls me Daughter.

Creation.
One among many,
Important all the same.

Jesus calls me Saved.

Loved beyond measure.
More than a name.