Never Annie by Anne Born (All About My Name Poetry Series)

Never Annie
by Anne Born

Annie Nannie Anita — Anne
For four generations, someone in my mother’s family
Was named Anne.

Born into a family of women,
Born with a hand-me-down name,
In the end, I was the only one never to suffer a nickname.

For just one day, just once
My grandfather called me his little Nancy
And I felt special, unique, only, new.

And yet, when I order my
Frappuccinos with whipped cream at Starbucks now,
I tell them my name is Lucy.

PHOTOGRAPH: Anne Born in her very own personal district of Barcelona, Spain (2009).

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: My name is too short. I always wanted something lingering, graceful. It was only when Ian Fleming’s stories took hold that I realized my name sounded like a spy. Born, Anne Born. I don’t care for Martinis, but if I did, I would like them shaken, not stirred.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anne Born is a New York-based writer who has been writing stories and poetry since childhood.  She blogs on The Backpack Press and Tumbleweed Pilgrim and her writing focuses on family and life in a big city after growing up in a small one.  She is the author of A Marshmallow on the Bus, and Prayer Beads on the Train. Anne is a photographer who specializes in photos of churches, cemeteries, and the Way of St. James in Spain. Most of her writing is done on the bus.  Find out more at www.about.me/anneborn. You can follow Anne on Wattpad, Instagram, and Twitter at @nilesite.