This month, my son, Evan, graduated from Virginia Tech and is now pursuing a career in film. He already has worked on the camera side of six independent movies.
And my daughter, Kathy, earned her law degree from the University of Maryland in Baltimore. The speaker at Kathy’s graduation read this poem. I’d not heard it before and want to share it with you.
FAMOUS
By Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
“Famous” from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (Portland, Oregon: Far Corner Books, 1995). Copyright © 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye.
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I like that — a lot. Thank you for sharing this powerful little poem. Will definitely be sharing this.
I smile back !
First, Pete, congratulations to you and your family on both graduations!
I must say, I found it uncanny how closely related is the poem you chose to share from your daughter's graduation, and your previous post about Bryan Stevenson.
Then again, if Bryan's work has so profoundly resonated with you, then certainly the poem by Naomi Shihab Nye would probably too.
Thanks, Pete What we are seeking….maybe we already have ! Sam
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.