They Knew Me by Name

By Ernie Tamminga

It seems to me

There was a time when I was not alone.

There seems to be

the mem’ry of a place and time

when I was not the only creature

to sing a song to a passing breeze,

to lift my face to the rising sun,

to share a secret with the whisp’ring trees

— No, no, I was not the only one…

I had sisters and brothers ‘most everywhere

They swam the rivers, they flew in the air

They walked the green Earth, and I did the same

They taught me of living – they knew me by name.

We once spoke their language; we’ve forgotten it all

Now we live all alone, ’cause we can’t hear their call.

Did I see it in dreaming, where strange worlds arise?

Did it speak in a smile,

did it shine in your eyes?

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