Original: As-Yet-Unnamed Writing Exercise (2015)

I know - catchy title, right?  This is what I came up with based on a writing exercise given to the students in an English class I interpret.  Make of it what you will.

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Allyson:
It means meeter of life as it comes,
Pursuer of justice in every shape and shade,
Devourer of ecstatic stories with her bare hands.
It is the number mathematicians call imaginary.
It is like the color of autumn
Bleeding into a leaf before its end.
It is standing in a small, wind-blown cottage in Ireland,
Learning the ideals of a man who battled a giant
For the right of his people's tongue to persist.
It is the memory of Alice Paul,
Who taught me ferocity and truth
When she found food a poor substitute
To being allowed an equal voice in her own country.
My name is Allyson –
It means that love isn't limited
To labels, boxes, or meet-cute couplings,
And well-chosen words can make
A world on which to stand.