Flower,
If I knew the name that botanists gave you -
A name that's not yours, since you can't and don't need to know it -
What good would that do me?
I could show off my knowledge to others,
Or at least congratulate myself for knowing it.
Were I a scientist, that name would be helpful
In understanding how you are related to other beings,
But that's not my field.
I could write poetry that drops your given name,
But my readers would have to look it up.
It would be but a pretense suggesting I know who you are -
A truth no name can tell.
(HASHEM in Hebrew means "the name" - used in place of words for God by orthodox Jews, because the actual name of God is too holy to utter.)
(PS: Below is a piece I assembled based on a recent study of public attitudes in the US about the distribution of wealth in the population. I'll be using it when I preach this Sunday at 10:30 am, Dec 11, at Mt Hollywood Congregational Church. I hope you'll spread it around!)
