My Middle Names
by Anita Ibeakanma
My Mama said to me
Anna is your middle name
For you are full of grace
You were without blemish
Florence another name
For your Godmother’s gaze
As you will always flourish
My peers said to me
Anna is out of vogue
Anita is now in vogue
As change remains promising
Move from grace to gracious
Florence can remain flourishing
For Florence is always precious
I said to me
Anita is now my middle name
This change in name is not a game
I move from grace to being gracious
For Florence remains a jewel so precious
As change is yet so promising
I’d rather my path keeps flourishing
PHOTOGRAPH: The author in 2001.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Anita Ibeakanma is a novelist and short story writer — author of Faderme: Tears from a Little Boy’s Heart. Her second short story title Pretty Fightingirls was recently published in paperback and Kindle editions. She lives in Nigeria.
Silver Birch Press 
I like that — move from grace to being gracious 🙂
Anita was my maternal grandmother’s name passed down to my sister’s middle name, who passed it once again to my three year old niece’s middle name. And of course, as I’m sure others have requested from you, every now and then I say, “Anita hug.”
Beautiful name, great write.