Anonymous

We scrolled through photos and bios

‘Til we found the perfect one

A puppy with all the assets

Our search was finally done

 

Blonde hair to match our home

A size, not too big or small,

With just one simple filter,

we could sort to match it all

 

Whenever we saw a moment,

We’d find an opening to drop

That phrase that’s now accursed

“Adopt, Don’t Shop”

 

Little did we know,

what life would bring our way

Struggles with infertility

Our dreams had gone astray

 

The next step was adoption

It seemed the natural course

But the struggles that we had

Would only get much worse.

 

The impossible choices to manage,

What drugs, what races, what rights?

The decisions overwhelming

Our synapsis slowly fried.

 

The background check, The home study

The fingerprints, the funds,

The whole entire process

Drained ‘til we were done.

 

We let go of our dreams,

Let go of our children’s hands

A final end to our journey

A future that neither had planned

 

When we told our friends and family

They cried and they consoled

Not knowing what to do with

a family that wouldn’t grow.

 

Unfailingly, they’d advise

Almost without a thought

If your done with fertility treatments,

“why don’t you just adopt?”

 

Adoption is beautiful

A selfless, noble goal,

but it isn’t the only solution

to make a family whole

My wife and I are happy,

With our dogs from stanza one,

Together we are family

Our new journey just begun.

 

We no longer tell others

“To adopt, don’t shop”

Our opinion isn’t needed

It’s their family, full stop.