Shelia

My mother was treated inferior
But she still didn't become wayward

My mother didn't throw away her life because she was thrown away.

My mother's life was hard
But we were treated like royalty

My mother was raised where the only lesson was that life was hard and no one cares
But she says my room is always here, no matter how hard my own life gets

My mother was forced to go to school barefoot
But we always had more than we needed

My mother was shown hatred and neglect
But she has shown us nothing but tolerance and support

My mother could have given up on hope
But when I'm lost, she always knows what to say.

My mother had to hide to study and was still held from taking exams
But when we needed something for school, the world had to wait till she made it happen. 

The darkness they beat into her back
She chipped away with her little light

Every hit was a hammer's blow to the iron that made her sword.
Instead of breaking her, it made her strong, stronger than any woman I know.

That strength, she passed on to us.
The hope stolen from her, she gave back to us in her words.

We now know how to love because she wasn't loved
This woman was never broken down by her past, she was built up by it.

My mother is the Barefoot Queen, hunter of Love and gatherer of peace
We are the presentation of what she never had and we stand proud in her fight, her will her love.

All hail my Queen, my mother.
Her name is Shelia.