Waiting Children

For anyone thinking about adopting a "waiting child", this poem is so powerful. We often wonder how it feels for the children left behind in the orphanage or what's it's like when their turn comes to be matched with their forever family. I don't know who wrote this poem, but I really wanted to share it.

"I've watched my friends go home from here,
To their families, one by one,
Yet here I stay through all these years,
Waiting for you to come.

I know that I'm not perfect,
Yet they tell me that I'm bright,
I just wish that you could only look,
Past what is wrong, to what is right.

I've watched my friends go home from here,
I dream of how that'd feel,
A pair of loving arms to hold me,
Will this dream ever become real?

I know that I would be home by now,
If not for fears of the unknown,
Yet I have many of my own you see,
In that you are not alone.

I've watched my friends go home from here,
It's happening to a friend today,
But wait! Her Mama has something for ME,
I take it and don't know what to say.

With trembling hands, I open the book,
And peek at what's inside,
A picture of a family,
"Can this be true?", I cried!

I've watched my friends go home from here,
It's my turn now, It's true!
I linger at the gate for one last time,
Then bravely walk on out with you."