every night

every night
I hear your voice
and it’s taking longer and longer
to remember you’re not there.
it scares me to know
that I want to fall off that ledge
and will you back
that I can’t and won’t
let go.
I’m doing this
because I lost my perspective
at the bottom
of my favorite beer.
I’m doing this
because it hurts too much
to say goodbye.

what's in a name?

With a new grandchild born today, it’s time to determine how popular their names are. For reference, I went to the Social Security Administration’s Popular Baby Name website. Here is a list of my grandchildren’s names, along with the popularity of the name in 2010. The rankings only go up to 1,000.

Righteous (born in 2006): > 1000
Nevaeh (born in 2008): 25
Gabriel (born in 2008): 21
Charis (born in 2010): > 1000
Zoe (born in 2011): 31
Samara (born in 2012): 606

My name, incidentally, was 17th most popular in the year I was born, but was only ranked #178 in 2010.

You’re welcome.