CHILD OF MY HEART

The music played; they opened the door -
She walked towards me, a vision in white
Proud on the arm of her Dad.
And I cried.
With joy.
With pride.
And I thought of the day
She was placed in my arms when she was born
To love forever.
A child not of my blood
But of my heart.

And I made a promise
Before God and in my own way
To her Mum and to heaven
To watch over and love her for evermore.
And as I gazed into her big deep eyes
I was lost – and she was found.
In a young life, such sorrow and pain -
A young carer for her lovely Mum
From just eleven
Saw things a child should not have seen,
So much pain for her to bear!

She lost much of her hearing.
It was so unfair -
But still she tried and tried;
Small wonder she sometimes showed a rage
That brought more trouble to her door;
Rage for a lost childhood
And a lost education.
But still she persevered.
Still she came to me.
When her Mum died she was just fifteen.

A year passed by
She met a nice young man
Four months ago I held her hand
As she strained to bring her child into the world.
Quiet she bore the pain, eyes bright with joy.
Just seventeen.
And I am so proud of this lovely bride
As here I stand in a hat fit for a Queen
Holding her baby boy.
The child of her heart.