I taught myself
the name of every
fairy,
mermaid,
unicorn,
dragon,
that dwelled in my imagination.

But,
slowly,
like the dust of dinosaurs
we pull from the hard,
cracked earth,
the world of
plastic
and
technology
stole those names from me.
They replaced them
with names like
“iPhone 12”
“Cherry Dreams Nail Polish”
“MacBook Pro”
“Facebook.”

But, one day, after
locking my technology away,
after trashing the
lipstick and replacing
it
with dirt,
I found new names.

They were told to
me
by the creek,
who smiled
when
she heard
my story.

She taught me the name of each
minnow,
each small pebble and each leaf
that dwelt in her midst.

She taught me
another name too –
She taught me
my own.

Lily Akers Eyer (she/her) is 13 years old and enjoys romping through the woods of North Carolina, biking, gardening, and expressing herself through poetry.

This article first appeared in Geez magazine Issue 64, Spring 2022, The Holy Fool.