THE STORY OF THE MOST FAMOUS ADOPTION POEMS
CAN I LIGHT A CANDLE
WRITTEN BY LINDA ANN HENRY
PUT TO THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC OF GARY MATTHEWS
I WROTE "CAN I LIGHT A CANDLE" IN 2001, JUST WHEN I FOUND OUT I WAS AN ADOPTEE. THE MAN WHO I THOUGHT WAS MY FATHER TOLD
ME. HE ALSO SAID HE NEVER WANTED ME. I WAS NEVER LIKED BY HIS FAMILY. MY ADOPTED MOTHER, DIED WHEN I WAS 24.
SHE HAD BURNED MY ADOPTION PAPERS WHEN I WAS 6. I FOUND OUT LATER THAT I WAS BOUGHT BY MY PARENTS BECAUSE MY MOTHER WAS
LONELY. I FOUND MY BIRTH MOM IN 2003, HER CHILDREN DID NOT WANT ME EITHER, BUT I DO TALK TO A SISTER I NEVER MET AND
SAW ONE BROTHER WHO DOES NOT TAKE THE TIME TO EVEN CALL ME BY PHONE. IN 2005 I FOUND MY BIRTH FATHER, WHO DIED A YEAR AFTER
I FOUND HIM. HIS CHILDREN DO NOT WANT ME EITHER.
WHEN I WROTE "CAN I LIGHT A CANDLE" IT WAS ABOUT A MOTHER WHO WENT INSIDE A CHURCH TO PRAY FOR A CHILD SHE JUST
GAVE UP. SHE WAS SORRY FOR WHAT SHE DID, SO SHE PRAYED TO GOD TO TAKE CARE OF HER DAUGHTER WHO SHE LOST IN ADOPTION.
SHE THEN BECOMES MAD AT GOD AND ASK THOSE FAMOUS LINES "GIVE ME MY CHILD BACK".
I WAS BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK, THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING. ONLY NO ONE WAS GLAD I WAS BORN. THE ONLY REASON I
HAVE LIFE AT ALL WAS BECAUSE MY BIRTH MOTHER WAS A CATHOIC AND DID NOT BELIEVE IN TERMINATE MY LIFE.
WHEN I WROTE THIS POEM, I DID NOT KNOW WHO I WAS, WHAT MY NAME WAS, OR ANYTHING ABOUT MY LIFE. I WAS LOST AND IN THE
PAIN OF ADOPTION.
THEN I MET A POET, WHO HELPED ME FIND GOD AND ALSO GOT MY POETRY ON A GREETING SITE. TODAY I AM KNOWN AS THE PEOPLE'S
POET. I TRY TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE IN PAIN AND NOW I KNOW THE REASON GOD PUT ME ON THIS EARTH. I AM MUCH LOVED BY THE PEOPLE
WHO READ MY POETRY AND I AM FOREVER THANKFUL TO GARY MATTHEWS, FOR LOOKING PASS MY HURT, AND MAKE A MASTERPIECE I ALWAYS CALL
"GOD'S ART"AND KNOWN, AS "CAN I LIGHT A CANDLE." WHERE THERE IS LIFE, THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
