What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
~William Shakespeare
My father married his brother’s widow
Which quite confused me when I was little.
My aunt, they said, was now my mother
And her son, my cousin, became my brother.
Was I to call him Cuz or Bro?
He looked the same. How could I know?
And saying Mom instead of Aunt
Seemed all wrong. I couldn’t. I can’t.
Then Father had a son with her.
What was he to me? I wasn’t sure.
But now my guesswork had improved.
Maybe “second something once removed?”
But who was I in all this mess?
Just a nobody is what I’d guess.
I wondered, “What is my name now?”
“What will they call me, anyhow?”
On top of this there came another.
A cuz? A bro? Something or other.
I finally learned, from this crazy litter,
My family name was “Babysitter.”
~Kay Conner Pliszka
