If you look at me
through
that view
finder
I wonder
what do you see?

- l.w.

I like you.
I think I’ve liked you since the first time I saw you.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I don’t love you.
Saying I love you would be silly.
I don’t know you that well.
I just know your name.
And the course you’re taking.
Who your brother is.
What year you’re in.
So, you see? Saying I love you is preposterous.
But I like you.

I like you.
But my friends don’t.
They call you arrogant.
But I think you’re just confident.
I keep that information to myself, though.
I like you, but my friends don’t like you that much.
So I pretend that I don’t like you either.
That’s why when we see each other around campus I ignore you.
But please don’t think that I don’t like you.
Because I do.
I really do.
I’m not in love with you, though. Just so we’re clear.

I like you.
I like your eyes.
I like your wavy brown hair.
I always wonder what it would feel like to run my fingers through it.
I like your hands, especially your fingers.
Long and thin like a pianist’s.
I want to hold your hand and lace our fingers together.
I like your lips and the way they hint at a smile whenever you see me.
Or maybe that’s just my imagination. But still, I like your lips.
I’d like them even more if they’re pressed against mine.
Sorry, please ignore the line above this one.

I like you.
I know because my hear flutters every time I see you.
Sounds silly and cliché, I know. But it’s true.
You make me feel weird. But a good kind of weird.
I like you.
And I want to know more about you.
Like why take up engineering?
Why not accountancy like your brother?
I want to know you more.
Can you sing? Do you dance?
And why did you choose number 7 for you jersey number?
I’d like to get to know you. But I know it’s impossible.
Well, maybe not impossible, just outside the realm of probability.

I like you.
And I’m saying it here.
Because I can’t tell you. I can’t tell my friends.
But now I’m telling everybody.
I like you.
But I don’t love you.
Because you’re a stranger.
A beautiful stranger but a stranger nonetheless.
One day we’d see each other and maybe I’d smile.
Hopefully, you’ll smile back.
But until then, I’d be harboring these feelings of mine.
And I’ll watch you. And like you from the sidelines.

heavy bated breath
blood rushing to my cheeks
laughing as you laugh
captured when you speak

tingles down my spine
every touch laced with spark
flawed and yet so fine
everything about you leaves a mark

you're a mountain
high and mighty
doesn't bow
doesn't bend

you're the sky
vast and wide
no beginning
and no end

you're an ocean
calm and stormy
all consuming
ever rising

you're a forest
green and wild
pure enchantment
ever growing

you're a mine
gems and gold
you are mine
rare and precious

i don't really know you well.
i just see you now and then.
i like what i see when i look at you
and i like what i feel when i see you
you know how it goes.

i like you but i'll never tell.
i steal a glance when i can.
i like to say hi when i see you
but the words get stuck in my throat every time i try to.
you know how it goes.

you don't even know my name
you can't see me standing there
as you pass me by and i die inside
you don't even seem to notice
you know how it goes.

you probably don't feel the same
you probably don't even care
you may have not seen the signs
but if you did there're a lot you missed
you know how it goes.

It's not always sunny all the time
but even the storm is better with you by my side.