Piker Press — Weekly Journal of Arts and Literature
April 27, 2026

A Rootless Tree Needs To Be Upheld

"...Naming is as psychological as it is spiritual..."

A Rootless Tree Needs To Be Upheld

Some names are historical,
yet other labels are personal,
maybe most names are cultural.

Certain names reflect a history
of one's parents, their deeds, desires;
yet other names are transcendent.

They embody, endorse an identity,
self, self-acceptance, self-worth and ...
one's community, culture and cosmos.

The association and mention of self,
is central, revealing and instructive;
some say naming is fundamental.

Naming is as psychological as it
is spiritual, it is a social practice
and a futuristic and ritualistic act.

Culturalists would caution one that
a name which doesn't have a cultural basis
is like a nondescript tree without a root.

Would you slam them and say naming
or 'misnaming' is not their business?
or you would take it as a wake-up call?

Sometimes names are a likeness
of the bearer, an echo or a mismatch!
be that as it may, names aren't petty tags.

Indeed they carry and connote self,
they distinguish and define oneself,
For names name meaning and value.






Article © Ndaba Sibanda. All rights reserved.
Published in the April 25, 2022 issue .
Image(s) are public domain.
More by Ndaba Sibanda → More poetry → Full issue →
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Reader Comments
1 Reader Comment
Shelly Norris
04/25/2022
06:34:42 PM
Ndaba, again, I truly enjoyed reading this exploration of naming, particularly the foray into cultural associations. Well done!
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