As Far as I can Remember

As far as I can remember
People called me Bobby
I was never more conscious of it

Bobby for a long time in those early days and still some ladies
My mother my grandmothers my cousins my sister
Call me Bobby

Joey Sacca called me MarCrotchy or The Crotch in elementary school
Which rhymes with my last name
It bothered me then but now I kind of like it

When I introduced myself on the first day of school
My ninth grade English teacher asked me if I wasn't too old
To be called Bobby so I changed my name

My wife is from southern Italy
Where I was told dogs are often named Bobby
So my father-in-law called his new dog Billy instead

Now I go by Bob
Which is what my father goes by and so I
Go by the same

A quick short movement up and down
A man with no arms or legs floating in the water
A kind of haircut     A cult

Bob is a common nickname for Robert
Someone asked me once
Why not Rob but I had no answer

People who don't know me call me Robert
That name is on my birth certificate and other documents
That I have accrued over the years

My students call me Mr. Bob or sir or just mister
T-Bone calls me Biz     My son calls me daddy
My wife calls me tesoro     amore mio

Bob is what it is
The same forwards and back
My name and then some