What I Hold Dear Poem by APPHIA GARCIA

Perfectly trained to be a lady,
With all the philosophies past down from my grandmother to me through my mother.
The belief that a lady must be seen and not heard,
Walk with her chin parallel to the ground and her back erect.
It is unthinkable for a lady not to be able to walk in stilettos.
I am sorry, ladies don't walk, we step.
Well, at lest that's what I have been told
And make sure your knees don't bend.

More than the superficial ideologies of what stature fits a lady perfectly,
I was thought to finish what I start.
Though I did not always live up to her expectations of continuity,
I followed the principle of determination.

She never told me because it was never a subject frequently spoken on
But she showed me how a lady loves.
I have learned how to love myself and have high self esteem,
I am proud of who I am
But in reality what I hold dear is my mommy.
She thought me to be me.