"It’s All In A Name" by Sandy Martin

It’s All In A Name

Saskatoon’s a funny name
For a girl to call her cat,
And a dog with curls and matted fur
Who answers to Medicine Hat!

There’s a cow that’s milked to the tune of a crow
Who sings when you shout Montreal!
And a rooster called Max,
(His twin's Halifax),
Who yodels at nothing at all.

There’s a bat named Vancouver, a rabbit called Hope
And a horse they call Antigonish.
And I’ve heard there’s a bird who speaks barely a word,
Though he’s been known to whisper ‘I wish…’.

A goat up in Kent sleeps by the church
With a goose who’s known as Nain.
 And a donkey in Digby
Who's not where he should be
And brays at the whistle of trains.

There’s a moose called Whitehorse, (though not horse, of course)
And a beaver called Bumble Bee Bight
And a tiny brown finch, who, given a pinch,
Believes he's the hawk in the sky.    

Oh, how I wish I could name each and all!
The herons, the frogs and the toads.
The caribou, bears, the foxes and wolves,
The snakes when they're crossing the road.
I'd give them all names that made them feel proud
Like Carcross and Rustico Bay,
Like Bracken and Red Deer and Pointe a Pinette
And even the ones I can't say!               

*** 

Sandy Martin lives in BC on a small island in the Salish Sea between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. She shares her life with her husband, an everchanging number of dogs and two donkeys. She has worked in creative nonfiction, short stories and, her first love, poetry. Sandy is currently working on her first novel.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.