I could say that I like art
But what I'd mean to say is
I like how it makes me feel
I like when it appeals to my own aesthetic
Or makes me see through someone else's eyes
I like that I don’t have to necessarily understand a piece to enjoy it
I like how looking at a photograph can take you back to a memory
Or how a film can make you feel empathy for someone you’ve never even met.
It's simple to say that I like music
But what I’d mean by that is
I like how it makes me feel
I like that a good beat can leave my feet uncontrollably
Tap, tap, tapping
And a soulful lyric can leave my heart dizzy for days
or how a good, solid forte piano can bring me to the edge of my seat
I like that an arrangement of notes can make me long for a place I’ve never been
or that feeling I get when I hear my favorite song come on at the store
It'd be safe to assume that I can say I like dance
But what I actually mean is that
I like how it makes me feel
How the delicate motion of someone else’s body set to music can move me to tears
and when the beat of the music travels through my own limbs like an electric current
when it leaves me out of breath
or how positively free I feel when I'm dancing alone to Beyoncé in my underwear
It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch for someone to maybe possibly say that there's an itty bitty sliver of a chance that
I like you
I mean
I like how you make me feel
Like my whole body is on fire and I’m caught in a rainstorm
like my stomach is full of ants but it’s okay because I’m an anteater
Like a little kid who lost his mom at the store but somehow found the candy isle
Like I’d spend a whole day just trying to make you laugh
I like that art, music, and dance make me think of you
and that that’s all I’m left to think about
art, music, dance
and you