Sentimental Calling

I like your name better
When it was short and sweet,
Not one tiny letter
Had a harsh sound in it;
Alone or in a set
'Twas plain music to hear
On the day that you let
The name reach my ear.

Calling you by your name
Was just like eating plums,
Soft as a cherry, tame
As the fruity perfumes
Of Arabia; a picture
Of long gone childhood days,
And bridging a culture
Different in many ways.

Your name was a secret
That no others had to
Know; it's like a locket
Of intimate value.
Why did you change your name
And wipe out yesterday?
I know you're not the same
For you have gone away.

Reprinted from Gulf Weekly, 7-22-93