Monday, January 31, 2005

My Children's Poems

Here is my favorite poem written by Stephen Atwood and given to me on the day of HIS graduation from High School titled "This Day Is Not My Own":

On this day the focus is on me,
My accomplishments,
My deeds,
And look how far I have come,
This is not as it should be.

The real hero is not the one on that stage,
Not the one in that sea of blue,
It is not the one who looks out and waves,
But the one to whom he sees.

The true hero is someone who rescued,
The one who loved,
The one who was patient,
The one who taught,
The one who listened,
The one who stood always to show me the way.

And on this day,
The one that the world says is my day,
I do not celebrate my self,
I cannot pat myself on the back,
I will not look into the mirror and say,
“Good Job.”

As I wait for my name,
As I stand up,
As I walk the steps,
As I cross the stage,
As I shake hands,
As I look out and smile,
As I step off the stage,
Out of High School,
And out in life.

As I sit,
I will ask,
How did this happen?
And I know.

If you had not found me,
I would not be sitting here,
If you had not cared for me,
I would not be here to stand up,
If you had not taught me,
I would not be climbing these steps,
If you had not helped me,
I would not be crossing this stage,
If you had not believed in me,
I would not be shaking this hand,
And if you had not loved me,
I could not walk off this stage,
I could not go on in life.

Please remember this,
And keep it in your heart,
And know that I love you,
And that when I look out,
My smile is for you,
The one to whom this day truly belongs.

I celebrate you.

Here is one by his sister, Frances, given to me as my Christmas present:

No words can express
How much that you have blessed
Blessed my life
And Blessed my heart
You never gave up or let us part

Even though I do not show
I do love you
And, yes, I'll try to make us a family
And I can't deny
That it may be hard
But we'll get through this with the Lord
Putting God first
And He'll lead the way!

posted by Nina @ 9:03 PM 1 comments

A Poem for My Children

Both of my adopted children have used poetry to express the feelings they struggle with. And as they have learned to trust, they have expressed their love to me in the same way. This is my attempt.

“I know you’ve been hurt, my child.
I know you’ve been wounded.
I know your heart’s torn in two from what you’ve been through.
But I am your Momma now;
I want to comfort you.
Please open your heart to me and let me love you.”

These are the words that I said to my children.
The children who came to me from some else’s home
This is the heartache I shared with my children.
The ones that I wanted to become my own.

I wanted so badly to turn back the clock
To take back the harm that had already been done.
I cry for the little ones who cried in the dark
For the innocent ones that were so alone.

And now they’re half grown and still curled up in the dark
Still hurting from hurts from a long-ago time.
And I ache with desire to give comfort and peace
Knowing always that I can’t undo the crime.

I cannot nurture the infant. I cannot bond with the babe.
I cannot hold them ‘til the rising of the sun.
I cannot rescue the victim. I cannot stop the attacker.
I cannot change what has already been done.

And I ache with a pain that is deep and consuming
And I cry with tears that fall like rain.
And I wait for the day that these children I love
Turn and open their hearts once again.

And that day finally came as each one in turn
Decided to risk one more time.
I was there when they reached for a comforting hand
I was there when they finally took mine.

Now my heart is so full it is bursting the seams
And I never have thought it believable.
But I say it’s a fact and I’ll never back down
All the pain is replaced by a love so incredible.

When you love one of these who’ve been hurt so much more
You will never give as much as you gain.

posted by Nina @ 5:31 AM 0 comments