ONE FOSTER CHILD'S LIFE

Poem "In His Death" was written for this foster child.

Hi my name is Simone.  I am 4 years old. I'm African American and have been in more foster homes than I can count on both my hands, and this is my story!  With the help of my foster mother.  Her name is Janette Anderson. She's separated from her husband. My baby brother came to live with us when he was 4 months old. He was a "crack baby."  I heard the social worker lady telling my foster mommy that he cried a lot and that it would not be easy. My foster mommy said okay and my baby brother cried all the time, even when she was holding him and rocking him in her arms. He kept on crying. I started crying too because nobody loved me, everybody just loved my baby brother.

Then when my baby brother got a little bigger, and he could say  "googoo", the lady came and took him from my foster mommy. She said he was going home to live with mommy.  But mommy killed him.  She said the drugs made her do it. And I heard the lady tell my foster mommy, they did not want to give my baby brother back to mommy because mommy wasn't ready.  But the judge said she was and the court was looking out for the child or something like that.

I missed my baby brother and I know my new mommy missed him too.  He didn't cry so much anymore before they took him away. And sometime my foster mommy would let me hold him and I made him laugh. And he laughed loud.

After my baby brother died, I was sad. One day the lady came to the house to talk to my foster mommy. The medicine that they give me made me sleepy, but I stayed awake and  I was listening because I thought they came to take me away too. I didn't wanna go away again. But my foster mommy had called them. She told them that I had pushed a doll baby's hand up in my private parts. And she asked them what had happened to me. 

The lady told her that daddy had had sex with me a lot of times. My new mommy was mad at the lady because she had kept it a secret from her.

But she kept me anyway. And she asked the doctor to take me off of some of the medicines so I wouldn't be sleepy all the time. She was a nice lady my foster mommy.  I am 7 years old now and going to live with grandma. That is my story.