Adoption Poetry

As someone who loves to both read and write poetry, I was thrilled to write an article about adoption poetry. What better way to creatively express feelings of adoption than to turn those feelings into beautiful words? From heartache to hope and inspiration, these poems for birth parents and adoptive parents will warm your heart. 

Birth Parent Poetry

When I Found You Under My Heart

By Rebecca Hernon

I looked at your future

It didn’t seem right

I knew we must part

My selfish feelings I did fight

I love you so

but I knew I must let you go

I cried & cried

my feelings I did hide

I searched through a book

I searched in my heart

Ron & Gina, I did find

and it only took one look

I knew they would love you

I knew that they cared

about me, about you

and about everything I wanted

for you too.

I have ached in my heart

At times, my feelings have torn

me apart.

The days have flown,

and so beautiful you have

Grown.

Blue eyes, blonde hair

and skin so fair.

You’re so tall; you’re so strong

I see your birth father in you

Remember, he loves you too.

I will always be here for you

and loving you too.

I sometimes worry

about what tomorrow

will bring.

But, I know I did

for you, the most

important thing.

Labors of Love

By Courtney Frey

I have stories of labor and pain,

The ice chips and a forced natural birth.

Stretch marks in places insane,

Every one of them a mark of worth.

I can tell you about transition,

And pushing … just depends on position,

Or drugs, if you get a nice nurse.

But when I think of the absolute worst,

It’s not my story about giving birth.

The grocery store where the clerk did see,

I’d left that mother wristband on me.

Just after I was released …

And she said, “Oh! You’ve just had a baby!”

But, there was no baby with me.

The looks and the stares when I went back to school,

My stomach was flat but the comments were cruel.

And the waiting for pictures, the sorrow inside,

Walking out of history with tears in my eye.

The birthdays I spend locked up in my room,

Singing to my son a sad, silent tune.

I wear my swimsuit when summer arrives

But the pale marks on my tummy and thighs

Are only reminders of what I’ve lost inside.

These stories of labor and birth,

I would be quick to trade.

For they do not carry the worth,

Of a mother whose able to say;

“I took our son to the park today!”

So yes I have these stories to tell,

And these marks that I wear so well.

I take pride when, “I’m a birthmom,” is my reply,

But when I think of the parents with my child,

I cannot lie … it’s the tears, not the story, you’ll find in my eye.

I cannot tell your stories,

Of home study and paperwork.

I do know there is no glory,

In treatments that painfully hurt.

I have not spent the countless hours,

With attorneys and all their power.

I do not know your tears, but that they exist,

Or the stories you would trade,

Just for that first goodnight kiss.

Or the first time you took the baby out,

And the comments you know all about.

The waiting, the crying, the labor of your own.

Each of us bear separate marks,

Eternal tellings of both love and pain.

But which is harder to explain?

Why I have these stretch marks,

Or how you could be so thin?

How to share the deepest parts,

Of when motherhood begins?

Is there difference in our story,

The labor, so much the same.

To each of us the glory,

Even if it comes with different names. 

The Hardest Day of My Life

By Sandi 

It was a day like no other,

A day I gave birth to my beautiful daughter,

then handed her into the arms of another.

A day when I knew what I was doing for her

would be right.

A day when my heart and mind they would fight!

A day when I knew in letting her go

my heart would never again mend.

A day when I’d wish my life would just end.

A day when I’d pray to my father above

and ask that he give me the courage

to allow this baby I love to leave

and have a life for her which right now

I could only dream of.

I day when I’d love her and dream of being her mother

A day when I’d lovingly place her in the arms

of her new father and mother.

A day I’ll cherish as the years go by.

A day I’ll remember with tears in my eyes.

Can I Have A Word with You?

By Bmom 

Psst…. Can I have a word w/you?

There are things I need to say.

There are a few things you need to know,

before you take her away.

She’s not a doll I’ve tired of.

She’s not the dog I gave away.

She is, for now, my baby girl

I will love her everyday.

When you go, she will be

the daughter of your dreams.

Please, fill her days with faith,

love, and lots of wonderful things

It is up to you to let her know

that she is an angel from above,

but if you could, let her know

how much she’s been loved

Thank-you for our little talk,

it’s time for you to go.

She needs a bottle and a nap,

but these things you, as her mother,

already know.

Hopeful Adoptive Parents Poetry

Hoping, Praying, and Waiting

By Erin Kling

I know you’re out there somewhere

so very far away

So I will keep you in my heart

until that special day

When we can be together

your daddy, you and me

I just can’t wait until that day

when we’re a family.

Father I Wanna Be

By Jeremy Richards

Father.

No one seems to understand these feelings inside.

They can’t understand my reasons and just keep asking why,

I know it’s hard to believe that I want to be a father

at the young age of 19.

But if I could be one thing in my life, a father’s what I want to be.

So with no one on my side and these tear drops in my eyes,

I’m going to keep pushing on and one day

be the father a child needs.

Two Mothers, with Love

By Carolyn Waggoner

We might meet in the park, or in line at the supermarket.

Perhaps we would smile over some mutual discovery.

If you only knew how much we could help each other.

We both bear tremendous pain.

You, because of an unplanned pregnancy,

and I because I cannot conceive and long to adopt a child.

I want to see my husband’s smile as he gently plays baby games again.

I hope to give my kindergartener the chance to be a loving big brother.

I yearn to nurture another precious child with abundant motherly love.

Yet, tonight we will go to bed again with empty arms.

We can assist you with rent, clothes, food, and a friendly shoulder for support.

You could add tremendous joy to our lives.

We could be special friends, watching our baby grow.

My family will provide love, security, and the best childhood.

You can call, visit, and assure the child of your love.

You hold the key to my dreams.

I pray,wait, and worry that if only you knew how much we want to raise your baby,

you would carry it for us.

But, I do not know how to find you.

To find me and others like me, you can call an adoption agency,

contact an adoption attorney, or read the internet adoption postings.

Before you make your decision about the baby inside you,

please think of me and my family.

We could be special friends.

Two mothers, watching our child grow.

Adoptive Parents Poems

Before I Was a Mom

By Cheri Kemp

Before I was a Mom…

I made and ate hot meals…

I had unstained clothing…

I had quiet conversations on the telephone.

Before I was a Mom…

I slept in as late as I wanted…

And never worried about how late I went to bed…

I brushed my hair every day.

Before I was Mom…

I cleaned my house every day…

I never tripped over toys in the middle of the night…

I never forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom…

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous…

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom…

I had never been thrown up on…

pooped on

spit on

chewed on

peed on

or pinched on by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom…

I had complete control of my thoughts…

My body

My mind

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom…

I never held down a screaming child so the doctor can give shots…

I never looked into teary eyes and cried…

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin…

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom…

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put him down…

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt…

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much…

I never knew you could love someone so much that you just met for the first time…

I never knew just how much I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom…

I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body…

I didn’t know how special it would feel to feed a hungry baby…

I didn’t know that bond between a Mother and her child.

Before I was a Mom…

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was ok…

I had never known the warmth…

the joy

the love

the heartache

the satisfaction

the total fulfillment of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much…Before I was a Mom.

(I wrote this about my son Michael. We were blessed with him through the fost/adopt program. He is and will always be the light of my life.)

The Family Portrait

By Monica Palmer

Once upon a time a Canvas was set.

Long before we ever met,

God placed it on the Easel. He waited.

A special Portrait would be Painted.

He set aside a Palette of Colors,

He knew just how to use them.

God waited till the Time was right,

then He began to choose them.

Placing His brush upon the Canvas

God painted an image Extraordinaire.

The details seemed faint at first,

but the Picture was truly there.

A Portrait of a Family;

a child, a mom, a dad.

This painting had something Extra,

God used everything He had.

His Palette was full of Colors,

He knew just what it would take.

Each Stroke was deliberately brushed in place.

A Special Portrait He would make.

He blended dark shadows with subtle hues of Gold.

Using the richest colors, a picture began to unfold.

One very special child, two fathers and two mothers.

The image began taking shape with such beautiful colors.

Splashes of Love outlined colors of Pain.

Shades of Joy and Sadness

were mixed throughout the Picture,

among Stripes of Sorrow and Gladness.

The Portrait was finally complete,

He gently framed it with His Heart

He hung it in the Halls of Faith . . .

A Priceless Work of Art.

How Can We Say Thank You?

By Dianne R. Forlenzo

We wish to set today aside

and thank God for our son,

He’s made our lives complete at last

our hearts beat now as one.

We wish to thank the couple

who have set our child free,

Who have chosen us to be the best

parents we could be.

We promised them a lifetime

of love to give their son,

We’ll never ever let them down

for he’s our precious one.

We also made a promise

but this one to our son,

We promise him a future filled

with love, laughter and fun.

We’re a family now forever

and life is simply grand

The three of us will walk through life

together hand in hand…

(I wrote this poem & dedicate it to our son’s wonderful birth parents. We are forever grateful for their gift!! xoxo)

These poems are just some of hundreds of beautiful adoption poems. It’s not just poetry that expresses the beauty of adoption. You can listen to some of the best adoption songs out there, read inspiring bible verses about adoption, watch TV shows with adoption themes, and more.