By Rachel Herndon, ACSW, Birthparent Services Coordinator
I recently had the pleasure of working with a 19-year-old birthmother, Allis, who herself was adopted at birth by her parents, Paul and Christina. Her adoptive parents were very supportive of her decision to place her unborn son in an open adoption and heard about a wonderful family in Colorado looking to adopt. That couple, Crystal and John, and Allis and Allis’ parents connected instantly upon meeting, and they all grew very close through the pregnancy. Finally, the day came when Allis gave birth to healthy and adorable baby Jaxon – a special day and experience shared by all in different ways.
The special experience of witnessing the birth of Jaxon was inspiration for Paul, Allis’ adoptive father, to write a sequel to a poem he had written 19 years earlier when Allis was born. The poem he wrote for Allis at her birth was called “The Golden Nugget,” and the poem written for Jaxon at his birth was fittingly named “The Golden Nugget: The Sequel.”
I was privileged to hear both poems read aloud by Paul at Allis’ relinquishment signing, a time when a birthmother signs documents giving parental rights to the adoptive family.
In my experience as a social worker, witnessing the relinquishment signing is always emotional and usually sad, but having a poetry reading on two generations of loving adoptions added a sense of meaning and even joy to the occasion.
The poems spoke of the love a birthmother has for her baby and the importance of the search for the right family to care for the baby. The poems also spoke of the love an adoptive family feels for their baby after their long search.
Equally important, the poems spoke of how fate seems to draw people together around these special and much loved babies.
The poems were beautiful and full of metaphors. It was especially poignant to hear Allis fondly recall her father reading her poem to her at bedtime when she was much younger, helping her to remember how much she was loved by both her birthmother and adoptive parents. Allis is reassured knowing that Jaxon has the same gift – a poem from his birth grandfather that will help him understand his journey from one family to another as he grows up surrounded by love from all of them.
If you are interested in reading the poems in their entirety, including some introductory thoughts from the poet himself, Paul, please go explore: The Nugget and Sequel Poems by Paul.
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