To Name A Wild Thing

To name a wild thing

One must sit quietly

In the blue basket

Of the bountiful jungle

And wait for the wide

Wonderful wild thing

To emerge from the trees

Once every hundred years

To receive their name

They arrive from all corners

Of the darkest parts

Of the forest

Their fur is freshly finessed

Their claws are curved

Their snouts sniffling

Because the open air

Of the clearing

Where they gather

Has a strange effect on them

They can only stay out in it

For so long

Before they must return

To the deep, dark forest

Where the lack of light

Covers them up

Like a comfortable blanket

On a cold, cold night

With time being tricky

You have to hurry

When naming
All the new friends

Standing before you

Some can be named

Based on how they look

But not many

For names are not often about

How one appears

But what one presents

When appearing

And even then

The presents presented

May be little more

Than just presentable

To name a wild thing

You must place your hand

On the soft spot

Of the wild thing’s forehead

Under its horn

But above it’s fifth ear

And summon forth

A name that will make

The wild thing roar

And that roar

Is the wild thing’s way

Of saying--

Yes, that’s who I am

Most of these creatures

Have lived double a human lifetime

With no name at all

So when they hear it

Tears might pour out of

All seventeen of their eyes

Or they might fly up into the air

Using three or four

Of their scaled wings

Feeling able to do anything

Now that they know
What to listen for

When they’re lost

In the night

The sound of a word

That means ‘You’

That means ‘I’m looking for you’

That means ‘Come home’

One by one

The wild things line up

And with careful consideration

You give each their name

By pulling moonlight from the sky

And voices from the earth

And quick bit of wit from the wind

All within a single moment

As each creature receives their name

They begin to dance

And as they dance

The ground quakes

And the stars shake

And the other animals in the forest

Come into the clearing

To celebrate with the wild things

Because they understand

What a very special night it is

When the last wild thing is named

The dancing and the delighting

Comes to an end

And the wild things return

To the places where they can’t be seen

And won’t be found again

Until their children’s children children

Need names

From someone like you

Someone who knows

That to name a wild thing

One must look into the eyes

The wild, wild eyes

And try to see

Who this is

And who they’d like to be

And tell them

They can be that

No matter how deep

Into the dark

They go

Or how far they travel

From those who know

Who they are

Because now they have

A neverending rope

That can go twice around the world

And still be pulled on

And followed

Back

To their home

Now they know

What it sounds like

When a sound in the dark

Is not a howl or a cry

Or the snap of a twig

Or the growl

Of a maniacal monster

For the sound

Is just a name

Their name

And it says--

You are someone

You are significant

You are special

You are worth

Having

A name