Christening.

i will give my daughters

complicated names,

names their teachers can't

pronounce,

names boys on the playground

will throw dirt at them for having,

names that are harsh on the

tongue, jagged against the roofs

of the mouths of men who

want to quiet them.

i will tell them when they are little

that they are strong, and they

will flex their muscles, and

i will tell them that they are

funny, and they will tell jokes

they made up at school that day,

and i will tell them that they are

smart, and they will write their

names and understand

how much

of the alphabet is theirs

for the taking.

i will teach them that they

can speak to the moon,

that the tides comes and go

in sync with their breathing,

that their bodies may be made

to bring life

but that could mean anything,

that there is life just in the sound

of their singing.

i will give my sons

sisters so they will understand

these things.