A Name No One Can Say

This poem is for Project OpenBook, a community-built children’s book. Details below.

I have a name no one can say;
The spelling is in disarray,
The vowels tend to go astray,
The consonants make spittle spray.

My parents didn’t try, per se,
To make it easy to mis-say,
They only wanted to convey
That I was special, cool–outré.

And that desire made them mislay
Their sanity (a face that they
Don’t even dare try to downplay,
And one that causes me dismay.)

And so this name no one can say
Has cursed me to this very day–
What did you ask? My name, you say?
What is this name no one can say?

It doesn’t matter anyway–
Everybody calls me Joe.

Written by Karen Bjork Kubin.

Illustrated by ??? Why no art ???

Project OpenBook is a community-built children’s book. Your rating determines what goes into the book. All proceeds go to funding a young girl’s education.

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