Growing into my name

My name came from a dead language 
Echoing a young mother's prayerful hopes 
For the eldest child to be favored by Almighty One
She, who defied her family's wish for marriage
Lit candles, knelt in the pews, beaded her tears to dusk-   

She called me by my second name
And I grew into it 
With a gentle sponge, sloughing off my rough edges
And as years passed, shaping my arms to paddles
My feet, into round hulls of boat 
My father gave me the wind sails  
I crossed oceans, learning to navigate sea of sorrows 

Though I tested boundaries of the reversed name - disgrace - 
I never got sucked and stuck in the pit 
Through all my journeys, my mother's devotions    
were constant as a lighthouse-

I sank into my skin
In all its wrinkles, wounds and flints
And as autumn leaves churn colors
so bright and dazzling, with every breath
a beating of sun's fire
a roar of wind's tempest

A grace of acceptance of this life's journey:
Gratitude

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub:  What's In A Name, hosted by Amaya.  Please join us for an interesting challenge.  Here is a bit of information of my name:

ORIGIN:

HEBREW  /  LATIN 

NAME ROOT:

(MIRIAM) (GRĀTĬA)

NATIVE NAME ROOT:

MARYÂM / MIRYÂM (מרים)

MEANING: 

This is a combination (composed, blended name) of Mary and Grace. It is of Hebrew and Latin origin and comes from the following roots: (MIRIAM) and (GRĀTĬA).

Miriam:  sea of bitterness or sea of sorrow

Grace:  gratia (favor, thanks, good will)