Name

By Andrew R. Duckworth

Overseas, there was a man,
Migrated to the new world,
Made his way to Canada,
Made his way down south,
New families, New faces,
Multiple generations,
My dad, born in Michigan,
Brought to Arkansas.
My last name.

Overseas, there was a man,
Overseas, there was a family,
Migrated to the new world,
Migrated to the new world,
Somewhere in Missouri,
Italian, German, Irish family,
Nine children.
My mother’s maiden name.
My middle name.

Occasionally, I ask what it means:
“Strength,” “manly.”
Derived from Greek.
It wasn’t supposed to be,
But it had to be,
My first name.