I am participating in National Poetry Writing Month,
where the goal is to write one poem a day for 30 days. During the month
of April, I will be using the writing prompts at ReadWritePoem.org
and posting the results.
Day seven prompt (nicknames)
Let’s write today about nicknames. Do you have one? Is there something
endearing or embarrassing that other people call you now or have in
the past? Fess up! Do you refer to yourself by something other than
your “real” name? For instance, I have been known to name
some of the different aspects of my personality: Lola runs marathons
and is generally a real go-getter, Ripsy parties with her girlfriends
and Bernadette abandons her family and travels the globe with her writing
pal Penelope. (See how creative you can get with names? If you don’t
have an alter-ego, invent one!)
You Hated When I Called You Stinky
(for my sister)
Really, you smelled like fresh
grass and daffodils. Sometimes,
like Cheerios. Your punches
tickled. A delicate pixie,
inventing songs, dancing
in family photos. You were afraid of ants.
You were a flitting faerie princess, and I
the jealous, short-haired tomboy.
I pondered a lot of possible directions for this poem. Should I
talk about all the nicknames I use on my online journal, or maybe the
fact that I've never really had a nickname? Finally, I remembered this
childhood nickname, and the poem sprung out of it.
