She takes off
all her clothes
just for
the fun of it
every now & then I
catch a glimpse
of naked bum
as it runs not here
or there but helter skelter.
She who only
mastered the art of walking
not so long ago
now glorying
in her limbs.
'Hey Cherub! '
I call out to her
& she turns
& comes
not because she's
understood
but understands the love
dripping form the words
an honeycomb
of language.
She tries to clothe
the nakedness of her
experiences
in a dress
of words.
She is surprised
to find
that her
anabooboo
doesn't stick
to the cat
and the cat
wanders amilessly off
discarding with disdain
her attempt
at naming him.
Soon the cat
will become its sound
(me! how?)
then finally
making it to being
C A T
(just like that) .
It's a long journey
into knowing.
I almost prefer
her almost Martian naming
her alien
way of seeing.
I curtly call the cat that
and even name the next cat that
an ANABOOBOO
and still can drive her
mad
years later
in a future far from here
calling my teenage
daughter
to say her date
is here.
'Hey Anabooboo! '
& see a blushing
Princess
descending the stairs
lithe of limb
and(thankfully)
fully clothed!
Dónall Dempsey
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-anabooboo-for-helen/