Naming Conventions

It’s one thing

to create something

and give a name to your invention

like a newborn

or your favorite mojito recipe

but the human tendency

to explore and excavate

naming things once discovered

seems different

I’m not saying it’s easier

to travel through space

for the chance to name a star

or to discover

a new-to-us insect species

but maybe these things

already have names when we humans

come upon them I don’t know

I do know I've been discovering

a lot of new things myself lately

about human nature

at least as it plays out

in my universe over here

digging up previously unearthed

artifacts and gems

a few that scurried away

preferring to be unexamined

and one or two so bright

it was impossible to look at them

with my naked eye

but despite my obvious

human tendency toward curiosity

I feel reluctant

to name them

#29 (penultimate!) of 30 Poems In November to benefit Center For New Americans. Today’s theme is STARS.