Names Poem by Eddie Henderson

The next gift you receive after the first breath of life that expands your lungs…is your name
Unless you change it via the legal system or adopt a symbol to capitalize on your fame… it remains

Hearing your name can evoke an array of emotions
Joy, from the recognition after surpassing some remarkable feat
All the way down to fear when you hear it from your parents
And you know it’s time to get your behind beat

It can solidify your reputation in the streets or re-affirm the domination you claim from your lover in between the sheets…me?
My name is Headliner
The opening act, I attract attention from all dimensions of the space that I’m spittin’

Born in the month of July, so that makes me a Cancer
We’re identified by the sign 69, so when it comes to knowledge, I love to give and receive
The name Headliner originated in college
On my step team they labeled me a shiner, always up front bringing energy and charisma
My big brothers had to keep me humble and in my place
So as they rubbed butter on my face to create the shine
A name was born

We are going to call you Headliner because you’re worth the price of admission
It was one of the proudest moments in my life… But the moment quickly died
My other big brother chimed in from the back “Yeah, I like that, but y’all notice his forehead’s so big a promoter could put the marquee for his event on there and that joint would sell out? ! ”
Hence the name “Head-Liner”

That’s the other thing about names
If we could all have a sense of humor about them, half of the world’s problems would be solved

Think about it
Give me a dollar in my account for every lunatic or debater who wrote a book made a fuss or killed a man over the “real name of our creator” and I’d be set for life.
But I digress…

Like my name, my poetry starts with H’s
A little humor, a little history, and a lot Humility
Humor because who really wants to be serious all of the time?
Smiles are Universal
History because you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been
Finally, Humility
There’s a thin line between confidence and arrogance

The difference is uncovered when you discover
Arrogance is when you use your God given gifts and talents to help yourself
Confidence is when you use those gifts and talents to help others
We’re all blessed with gifts and flirt with this thin line every day
It’s the people that are closest to us that know when we are being humble
And they keep us that way
Those are the names you can’t afford to forget