My Name is Rosemary

"Never let anyone

shorten your name,"

said the Sage.

"You need Mary

for your strength."

And since then

I never have –

though, before that,

I liked Rose …

being a rose.

Mary. I ponder –

The Great Mother?

Or the sea?

(Rosemary means Rose

of the Sea.)

Mary the Mother

endured all things,

and was brave;

while the sea

is ancient, wild.

My namesake plant,

that resilient shrub,

has a fragrance

not sweet, but

faintly salt-tinged.

"Don’t," I say,

"call me Rose.

Friends call me

Rosemary." I smile,

and they comply.

Also shared at The Poetry of Three: three words per line on facebook.