Sometimes, when I am almost asleep,
I hear, in the back of my head, a voice
calling my name as a question.
It calls out as if in a crowd,
but when I turn in my dream
no one is there.
And the voice returns from time to time, as if
it is waiting, as if I am somehow coming closer
to being the person whose name I bear
as though, if I ever arrive at the place
the voice is calling to,
if I ever truly arrive
I will turn and it will be there,
whispering my name as an affirmation.
graceful and gentle, like a blessing,
an answered prayer.
