This Child

Submitted by: Linda in Texas



No, this child can't go home today.
His mother is unmarried and his father walked away,
He walked away and left her helpless and forlorn,
Abandoned and rejected, ridiculed and scorned.
Her family then decided she must be sent away.
It was the worst thing that could happen to a young girl in that day.
She could not bear to cause them pain, and so she had to go,
She left them silently in her shame--the neighbors must not know.

No, he won't be going home today--his mother had to leave.
She signed the papers yesterday. They told her not to grieve.
They brought him to her one last time to kiss and tell goodbye.
She held him as her tears fell, but no one saw her cry.
No one saw and no one cared. After all, she was unwed.
It wasn't done; it could not be, and no more need be said.
She walked away with head bowed low. Her heart could not endure the pain.
She knew somehow from this day forth, her life would never be the same.

It wasn't easy, but she tried to build her life anew.
She finished school; she married; and she had more children--two.
But always on his birthday, her mother's heart was torn
Remembering the agony of surrendering her firstborn.
She prayed for him and wondered often through the years
Just who was there to hold him and wipe away his tears.
And would he ever understand just why she had to go?
She wanted him to know somehow that she had loved him so.

The years flew by and then one day that special phone call came.
A young man's voice with questions, and the birth date was the same.
Her whole world stopped. Her heart stood still. Could it finally be true?
The child she had to leave behind had searched and found her, too.
Oh how amazing and what joy! She could not wait to see
The pictures that he sent her of his wife and family.
When she found the one of him, she could only stop and stare.
She knew right then he was the one--God truly answers prayer.
So now at last he's coming home. No longer is there shame.
Her soul is filled with gladness, this new son now to claim.
He's coming home; he's coming home, her broken heart just sings,
And now she wonders where it was God hid that searcher's wings.