I have been helping a new birthmother (who we will call M.) plan an entrustment ceremony. As I’ve said before, entrustment ceremonies are not for everyone. For some they may seem a bit hokey or something that would be too emotional, but for M. partaking in this ceremony was very special to her and the adoptive family as well. It would be video taped so she knew that one day her child would be able to watch it. I’ve written about entrustment ceremonies before, but will briefly define them again in case you have not read that post.

An entrustment ceremony is an adoption ritual that acts as a symbolic gesture of the transferring of the parental role from the birthmother to the adoptive parents. It can give a birthmother the chance to symbolically say goodbye and provide a little closure.

M decided she wanted to read a poem to her child at the ceremony. We searched online for poems that would be appropriate. This was trickier than I thought it would be. I thought I’d share a few of the poems that we found for her to consider in case some one out there may be looking for the same thing.

One of our favorites was On the Wings of a Prayer, written by birthmother Lisa Bote-Phillips. This poem has even been featured in the Dear Abby column.

Another favorite was Tiny Footprints, written by Jeanette Minnich.

If you like to write, you could write you could write your own poem for your child. That would be very special.

The Song Forever Young by Rod Stewart is a great song that other birthmothers have either read the lyrics of or played at their entrustment ceremony. Lifemothers has a great Songs Related to Adoption page that lists other songs that could convey the love you have for your child.

Ultimately M ended up choosing On the Wings of a Prayer.