by John Hollander |
“And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field…”—Gen. 2:20
Thou, paw-paw-paw; thou, glurd; thou, spotted Glurd; thou, whitestap, lurching through The high-grown brush; thou, pliant-footed, Implex; thou, awagabu.
Every burrower, each flier Came for the name he had to give: Gay, first work, ever to be prior, Not yet sunk to primitive.
Thou, verdle; thou, McFleery’s pomma; Thou; thou; thou—three types of grawl; Thou, flisket; thou, kabasch; thou comma- Eared mashawk; thou, all; thou, all.
Were, in a fire of becoming, Laboring to be burned away, Then work, half-measuring, half-humming, Would be as serious as play.
Thou, pambler; thou, rivarn; thou, greater Wherret; and thou, lesser one; Thou, sproal; thou, zant; thou, lily-eater. Naming’s over. Day is done. |
This site was last updated 08/12/02