Adopted... Poem by Betty Jo Hilger

He stood, waving, at the door
With his tiny hand motioning toward his chest
Two simple words, powerfully uttered
Seize her heartstrings, grasping with a hopeful grip…

Come back?
and
Tears flowed from her eyes…

Angelic face, elfin
Big blue eyes search for faith
Anticipating trust
Wishing...

Shuffled back and forth, from one home to another.
Fed and held, but kept at a distance from their love
They did care for him. They did love him, a little.
They wanted him to have a family.
Just not theirs…

The new ones brought him Batman.
Eighteen inches tall, with a cape of midnight
Bat wings that folded back onto themselves
A superhero who personified his dreams of,
belonging…

Come back?
and
Anxiety flowed from his heart…

Enchanted figure, standing
Golden hair glistens in the setting sun
Gestures reach, but hesitate
Yearning...

The new ones drove away leaving promises to hold
But how is he to know how to believe?
He’s heard it all before, as he’s left there at the door
His giant eyes grew moist with unshed tears…

Come back?

Observed by the adults, he sits alone
Beautiful and sheltered in the room
His gestures misinterpreted, as cute
So sweet, innocent, precocious

They do not understand

His heart lies fractured on the ground
Laying at his feet, its shards glimmer in the night
As the car has passed from view
He turns, towing the shattered bits behind him
As he crawls into a darkened space to nurse his wounds

Come back?

Soon his heart may pass ability of restoration
Soon he will stop asking…

Come back?

As they drove away,
she knew
His pain had become hers

Though incapable of understanding from his view
It was an intellectual choice
Born of desire, and sympathy,
and hope

How many times, she asked, has he been left?
If we don’t return, where will he end?
Her heartstrings reverberate with echoes of his call
Pulling, tugging, wrenching at her soul

She would go back…

How long before they let her take him home?
How long before he learns to trust?
How long before he’ll willingly seek comfort
held within her embrace?

It didn’t matter.
She will go back…

Until she never has to leave him there, again…

It was the day!
The sun was shining, bright with possibilities
With hope, with emotion, with aspiration, with dreams
fulfilled…

He was going home!

Happiness rose encumbered with concern
Apprehension twisting, caught with unease
Joyful moments, poignant, tearing at his soul
Fearfully, he follows the new ones to their home

His home
His place
His family
He belongs
and
His face crumpled with divided loyalties and wept

They came back...

**excerpt from 'Living in Chaos Survival: A Parenting Journey...' **Published through LuluPress 2004