I think it's beautiful
the way you curve your lips
when you speak about
the things you admire
and the phenomena
you believe in,

how sunsets show
that endings could be
of oranges and yellows
and not all grey,

how the waves
wander the sea
but still return
to the shore,

how a flock of birds,
no matter how long
will always wait
for them
to be complete.

I think it's beautiful
how you call me
at the end of the day
to tell me how it went,

how you take me
to unfamiliar places
that only us know,

how you wait for me
when there are days
that i want to be
with myself;

I think it's beautiful
how you're always there.

And so they say,
that beauty
lies in the face,
but then I look at you,
all of those voices
suddenly become mute,

because when I look
at you,
behind your
curved smile,
behind those
brown eyes,
I see more
than just beautiful.

I see
you.

They said,
"The most beautiful art is
looking into someone's eyes
when they talk about the
things they love."
And I said,
"Or looking at someone you love.
Or maybe, just maybe,
by looking at the mirror
is the most beautiful art
anyone should appreciate."

An open letter to all the children;

Please don't grow up.

Because growing up isn't rainbows and butterflies, nor ice creams and candies. Growing up isn't stars and galaxies nor silent nights and starry nights. Child, growing up is storms in your head and responsibility in your hands. It's going to be full of nightmares instead of lullabies to send you to sleep. It's full of choices, pain, regret.

And it pains me that there's nothing I can do but to wish that you all stay that little.

You can stay protected and loved. You can cry all you want but there's always going to be someone to cheer you up, because child, when you grow up, no one will wipe those tears but yourself. Everytime you fell when you tried to walk, there was always someone to help you back up. But child, growing up means learning to pick yourself up on your own.

You have to get used to being alone.

Everything's simpler when you stay like that, and I wished I could've stayed like that, because growing up is that rollercoaster you've always dreaded to ride.

So child, even though it's inevitable, please don't you ever grow up.

(inspired by taylor swift's never grow up)

"Hey, can I tell you a story?" I asked him, intertwining his fingers with mine.

"About what?" he asked and made that  expression which I always thought was cute.

"About you," I smiled as I laid my head on his shoulders, feeling the warmth of his hand.

"Once upon a time, I rode a bus without knowing where it was going. I was head over heels for this guy that I rode the first bus that came just to see him."

"Why didn't you ask him what bus to take?" he interrupted.

"It's because he didn't tell me to go. He didn't give me any address. It was like, a spur of the moment thing. Moving on, did you know that it felt like forever in there? I didn't like it. Forever felt like a long time and heading to someone without a destination wasn't what I had in mind to spend it on. So I decided to go."

"Where did you go?" he asked, holding my hand much tighter.

"I don't know. I was just walking in the middle of nowhere, trying to find something that I don't even know. Maybe I was trying to find something— or maybe I just wanted to be found. But it felt better,— being lost, getting sick, starving and even dying while trying to find direction than riding that bus you know?"

"Hey, this is all metaphorical isn't it? And how is this about me?" he questioned.

"You're cute when you're curious," I laughed, giving him a peck on his cheek. "Just listen to me."

"After quite a long time, when I felt like all hope was gone, when I was about to give up, I saw someone. I walked up to him and asked where I was. He smiled. He said only a few people who got lost get this far because some give up on their way. I asked him how to go home, and he said to just wait. He said that the right bus will come when I'm ready. I then heard several buses passing by and when I was about to ask him more questions, he disappeared. I swear it felt like he was a deity or something. But I did what he said. I waited for the right bus, even though I didn't know what it would look like. But there were changes. Before, when I was still lost, I've grown weaker each day, but this time, it was as if I was healing. And then it dawned to me—I was slowly being healed by time. When I felt like I was ready, he was right. A bus stopped by which was heading home. I hurriedly rode it and it felt right. I was finally going home," tears were slowly running down my cheeks as I stared right into his eyes.

"And do you know where the bus took me?" I asked him and he smiled as if he knew the answer.

"Well, I have a feeling," his eyes grew smaller with the smile he has put on.

"To you. It turned out that home—home was you."

—The night before our wedding

Maybe it was
your smile,
or your eyes
or the way you spoke
that made my heart
race
—a bit

Maybe it was
your hair
soaking wet,
or your body
peeking through
your dripping shirt
or your arms
which I thought
would be perfect
around me
that made me not
take my eyes
off of you
—for a short time

Maybe it was
your artistic hand
and how you speak
through your
paintbrushes,
or how you can
create a world
of your own
with your craft
that made me
admire you
—for quite
some time

But this,
I know for sure;
It was the way
you smiled at me,
and how
your eyes shrank
when you did;
It was the way
you spoke to me
with the
right words
that night
when I needed it
the most
that is making
my heart race
—until now

It was the way
you touched my
soaking tangled hair,
your body
close to mine;
when you put
your arms
around me
and told me
I was worth it
when I cried
that made me not
take my eyes
off of you
—everytime
I had
the chance

It was the way
your art
drew itself
into my heart;
how you
knocked down
my walls
from the tips
of your
paintbrushes
without you
knowing;
and
how you
created
a new world
for me
with your craft
of making
people happy
that made me
admire you
—for a long time

But I hope
you would
never
feel the same
for me
—even though
I badly
want you to
because
I'm a mess,
and I don't want
to be
the one
who will
destroy
all the things
I adored
about you

I hope you
would never
feel the same
because I
don't know
if I could
love you right.
I hope you
would never
feel the same
because
I don't
really know
how to love
—at all

—You're just too good for me