The first day they met him
He had tears in his eyes
He stared up at them then
Unsure whether to call them ‘sir’ or dad

The next day when they woke
He was crying their names
Wondering why why why why
He’d been taken away

The weeks that followed
Were full of heartbreak
Visits and court dates and investigations
He was only four years old, almost five

New brothers, new sisters,
added on to his one
New parents, new home,
Not the ones he’d been taken from

Weeks turned to months
The months to a year
The boy still didn’t smile
He didn’t belong there

He got a new name
He stopped seeing them
New babies were born
New placements made

Two years afterward he still doesn’t understand
Why they’d just give him up like that
For a substance he knew they craved
But they gave him up for it that day

Angry then sad, then angry again
He doesn’t want to admit that he’s angry at them
He loves his new mom, he loves his new dad
His new sisters and brothers are all that he has

But still he remembers
The ones he first knew
His Mommy and Daddy
Who never saw how he grew

The boy that doesn’t smile
He was broken that day
When he learned why his parents
Let him get taken away.