Names – Jamali Thomas Bowden

I’ve got names like the moon has
Like the sun and the stars and the sky itself

I’ve got names like the camel
Like the cow and the llama and the kangaroo

I’ve got names like the Nile
Like the Euphrates and the Mekong and the Amazon

I’ve got names like Babylon
Like Timbuktu, like Cairo and Beijing

I’ve got names like the Himalayas
Like the Caucasus, like the Atlas and the Andes

I’ve got names like the drum
Like the flute and the lute and the incantation

I’ve got names like the seasons
Like the ocean, like the day and the night

I’ve got names and names and names and names

I’ve got ancient libraries of names

Traditions, older than writing, of names passed down

The scribes chiseled endlessly,
And now keyboards clack on

And still unwritten volumes fill the infinite shelves of what will never, and is still yet to, come

I’ve got names and names and names

This poem is part of the Amazing Poetry Race. Discover all five poems by exploring the City of Port Phillip.
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