Zelda: "Each of Us Has A Name"

Each of us has a name
given by God
and given by our parents
Each of us has a name
given by our stature and our smile
and given by what we wear
Each of us has a name
given by the mountains
and given by our walls
Each of us has a name
given by the stars
and given by our neighbors
Each of us has a name
given by our sins
and given by our longing
Each of us has a name
given by our enemies
and given by our love
Each of us has a name
given by our celebrations
and given by our work
Each of us has a name
given by the seasons
and given by our blindness
Each of us has a name
given by the sea
and given by
our death.

"Each of Us Has A Name" by Zelda (Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky), from The Spectacular Difference: Selected Poems, translated from the original Hebrew by Marcia Lee Falk (Hebrew Union College Press, 2004). Text as published by Ritualwell: Tradition & Innovation.

My thanks to Rabbi Shmuel Birnham for suggesting this poem. 

Art credit: "Faces from around the world," video published on January 26, 2014, by jarray42. Soundtrack: "The Time To Run," by Dexter Britain.