Legacy of An Adopted Child

This poem is in the back of the booklet we used at the International Adoption Seminar we attended.

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other
One you do not remember
The other you call mother

Two different lives
shaped to make your one
One became your guiding star
The other became your sun

The first gave you life
And the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love
And the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you aim

One gave you emotions
The other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears

One gave you up
It was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child
And God lead her straight to you

And now you ask me through your tears
The age-old question through the years
Heredity or environment -- which are
you a product of?

Neither, my darling, neither
Just two different kinds of love

~Anonymous