When she asks me if I remember when
I lost my virginity I have to stop
and consider the question before
the obvious answer appears and I say
“according to my birth certificate, I
lost my virginity at 11:31 P,M
at the Washington Children;s
Medical Center more than seven
decades ago, although I have
to admit I have no recollection
of the event, nor the face of my
partner that night for as far as I
know, it was the only time I saw her.”
I’ve had several partners since
and I remember the faces of each,
but hers I know only from a photo
culled from her college yearbook.
I suppose it is like that for many
adoptees, the virgin warmth of the womb
replaced by the reality of parents
connected to you by law, and hopefully
by love, but genetic bonds
are strong and once severed
can never be fully replaced