Water

Whoever said blood is thicker than water
obviously didn’t know my dad.
I was only three months old when he cast genes aside
and chose to be my father

It was love at first sight he used to say
Not with the 20-year-old divorcee he found dining alone
the woman I call mom
but with the infant bound and sleeping silently beside her
unaware of the father she didn’t know or the one she was about to.

My dad fell in love that day with a child that wasn’t his
He fell in love with me
And even when a sister came later who shared his DNA
our bond ran fathoms deep
His fatherly ocean seeping into every crack and fissure of my life
in a way blood never could.

My veins bleed the crystal clarity of his love
Rivers of calm, sparkling pride I now pour into my own daughter
A daughter I too chose

And yes…

it was love at first sight