Please Don't Call Me Robert
My parents "Rob-ed" me at my birth,
And, in its cardboard frame,
My birth certificate makes clear
That "Rob" is my first name.
And only that is why I scream
Until it starts to hurt,
That, nickname though just "Rob" might seem,
MY NAME IS NOT ROB-ERT!
I've no aversion to that name,
In fact, I think it fine.
It's nothing to dislike or blame,
It's just that it's not mine.
I've known 'Roberts' throughout my life,
In fact there's one I Love,*
But still it cuts me like a knife
And hits me like a shove.
That name, from Latin noun robur
Means "heart of oak," and "strong."
Robustus, "fit," comes from the same,
And "mighty"'d not be wrong.
The name I
