Names

I have many names,
and have had many.
The country where I live
shows my mother's last name;
the country where I was born,
and where she was born,
does not.

Traxler, Hanes,
Jacobson, Bloomquist,
Moore, Neely,
Dunne, Barry,
and before any of these,
Amadoya, Water Beaver.

I pick names out of
the air--
Tiyóhali,
Siquoya Uwetsi,
Devidas,
Kalidas,
Ben Noach,
because without air,
without spirit,
we cannot live.

Donald Jacobson Traxler
Oct. 4 2018