I love the fact that the name Adam comes from the Hebrew word Adomah, which means earth or ground. He was given the name of the substance of which he was made. If the soul is in the name, then there's a wonderful unity of body and soul.

Adam Means Earth

 

I am the man
Whose name is mud
But what’s in a name
To shame one who knows
Mud does not stain
Clay he’s made of
Dust Adam became –
The dust he was –
Was he his name?

From The Niche Narrows: New and Selected Poems (Talisman House Publishers, 2000), copyright © Samuel Menashe 2000, used by permission of The Library of America for the Estate of the author.

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