Room for My Whole Name

Room for all of me

Twenty-three, a paper sack
A dress I never wore outside
Bus glass showing half my face
My name unspoken all the ride
I change in front of a narrow mirror
One loose thread against my wrist
A stranger says, "I love that colour"
And asks my name, then gets it right

For once I don't pull down my sleeves
For once I don't explain

Room for my whole name
Room for the way I shine
I don't have to leave a piece outside
To bring this whole heart inside

All of me
Not half this time

Mama calls me Tuesday evening
Mama calls me Tuesday evening
Asks who walks me to the bus
I tell her how I wore the blue dress
I tell her how I wore the blue dress
She listens without interrupting once
She tries my name, then tries it slowly
I say, "That's right," and hear her smile
I send a picture from the doorway
She says she'll keep it for a while

Room for my whole name
Room for my whole name
Room for the way I shine
I don't have to leave a piece outside
To bring this whole heart inside

She sends a photo of her kitchen
She moved the shopping list aside
My blue dress on the fridge in daylight
My whole name written underneath

Room for my whole name
Room in the life I left behind
My picture on her fridge in daylight
Nothing folded up this time

Room for my whole name
She got it right