TO MY FOSTER CHILD; A Poem By Megan Simmonds

You are my child, with tousled hair

And fresh, scrubbed face, sleeping there.

Your well-loved toys around your head,

Your battered slippers on the bed.

I could creep out

Just leave a smile,

But perhaps I’ll sit here for a while.

I’ve kept you warm and fed and dry,

I’ve wiped the teardrop from your eye.

We’ve fought, we’ve laughed

Through bad through good,

But most, I hope, you’ve understood.

You gave me love, a hug, a smile.

Yes, perhaps I’ll sit here just a while.

Tomorrow, you will leave with Mum,

Uncertain whether harder times will come.

It’s not enough to love and feed,

For, deep down, it is Mum you need.

It’s harder now to raise a smile.

I’ll just sit here and watch you for a while.

There will be another when you have gone,

But, just like losing my unborn,

Each child’s a person, different, new,

So I will shed a tear or two.

It is good you are sleeping,

For I can’t smile.

I’ll just sit here and weep a while.

You are so loved, but you are not mine.

In a way, I am yours, so that’s just fine.

I chose to give you of my heart,

To share, to help and then to part.

So, though you’ll barely wave, I’ll bravely smile,

And continue to love you for a long, long, while.

Copyright ;  Megan Simmonds.

Photo courtesy of annie-spratt; Unsplash