The Waiting Child

N has been in an orphanage since birth, although he wasn't available for international adoption until the day before we met him, because his birth parents' rights had only been terminated recently. He probably witnessed many kids being adopted, and probably wondered when it was his turn. I saw this poem a long time ago, and when I read it I thought. "Oh, that doesn't apply to us, because we aren't going to adopt a child that old". It turned out to be the perfect poem for our family.

The Waiting Child
by Debbie Bodie

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully.
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby yet
Inside I'm aching miserably.
I want to plead as you go by
Does no one want a child of three?

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met.
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year
I knew I'd seen your face before.
But you came for another babe
Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new.
A nurse came in and took my hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I'm almost six
And there are infants here you see?
And then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.