The truth is, no one wants his name.
His wife chose to keep hers the same:
Saying, that’s who she’d always been
And asking him to not require it
For them to get married

What’s wrong with it – he thought – my name?
Does it somehow bring guilt or shame?
And yet he knew ’twas not her point
And didn’t change the way he felt,
But marred the hopes he’d carried

That she, unlike his ex, would feel
A love for him so strong and real
She’d not pretend in public that
She had no one at home at all,
But carry his name gladly –

Alas. His son’s now told him that
He’ll change his last name, too, and stat:
Of his three children, two are step
The son’s the only one who had
His name. Now that’s done. Sadly –

The truth is, no one wants his name:
They’ll take what he gives all the same,
For he is nothing in the end
But just some sort of
ATM

…

Photo credit: © Jimboudreaux | Dreamstime.com – Sad Man On A Bench Photo