“Not by Blood, But by Heart”

He didn’t give me my name But he gave me a place to speak it Didn’t pass down his eyes or smile But he taught me how to use mine My real father was a ghost in daylight A name on paper, a silence in rooms But this man—he was there In the small ways that mattered most He showed up in the mornings In the rides, the meals, the steady voice He didn’t need to be perfect He just needed to be there And he was When I cried without reason When I laughed too loud When I needed someone to say “You’re not too much. You’re just enough.” He may not be blood But he’s the reason I believe in love Not the kind that’s inherited But the kind that’s earned One moment at a time