A name was breathed into the world,

on a tired, ecstatic sigh.

It was crooned

it was yawned

it was chided, prompted.

Finally it was repeated,

gurgled questioningly,

tested out on a tongue just learning the possibilities

of intentionally united sounds.

And then it was shortened, sang, teased

to mixed responses.

It was called-for

shouted-out

passed-on

from mouth to mouth,

other tongues holding the syllables more naturally

simply by virtue of extended use.

And then at last,

one foggy afternoon

it was claimed,

uttered into the air firmly

freely

confident and sure

finally aware that a name

held only as much importance as it was given.