Isn't My Name Magical?
by James Berry
Nobody can see my name on me.
My name is inside
and all over me, unseen
like other people also keep it.
Isn't my name magic?
My name is mine only.
It tells I am individual,
the one special person it shakes
when I'm wanted.
If I'm with hundreds of people
and my name gets called,
my sound switches me on to answer
like it was my human electricity.
Isn't that magical?
My name echoes across playground,
it comes, it demands my attention.
I have to find out who calls,
who wants me for what.
My name gets blurted out in class,
it is a terror, at a bad time,
because somebody is cross.
My name gets called in a whisper
I am happy, because
my name may have touched me
with a loving voice.
Isn't it all magic?
http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=121
I love this poem. Every child can relate to the things mentioned throughout the poem. I do think all names are magical because they are such a big part of life, just like this poem describes. This poem doesn't rhyme, which I think is appropriate for this poem. This poem contains imagery, such as "my name echoes across playground, it comes, it demands my attention. I have to find out who calls, who wants me for what." The reader can sense the urgency to find out who called the child's name. I think this poem provides great insight to the simple importance of a name. This poem describes things all people have experienced, such as having your name called out in class or on the playground. Even though it is just a word, names are who we are. This would be a great poem to read in the classroom. It could be the basis for children finding out the origin of their names, what their names mean, etc.