I am not what they say,
I am not what I think,
I simply am.

I am like a sea of fresh water,
I am like a fleeting spark,
just an instant.

I am not the label
society pins to the pocket of my shirt.

I am the nothing and the all,
I am the nothing and part of a whole,
I am the whole.

Yesterday you walked across my face,
Something runs down my back.

I don't know how many verses I can use,
to describe what I felt.

My soul fell at risk,
from nostalgic memories.

A whirlwind in my heart,
and a curiosity of my soul.

The beauty of the past,
and in the desert, neither shadows nor water.

Just a little love,
and memories of fairy kisses.

"Expectations are like salt—
a little enhances the flavor,
too much ruins everything."

Thank you for sacrificing yourself every day,
to provide us with bread.

Thank you for every postponed goal,
for dreams left behind.

Thank you for every hour of your life,
that we dedicated to playing.

Thank you for every bitterness,
that you never wanted to confess.

Thank you for every time you were a shield.

I'm sorry for every time I didn't know how to listen to you.

Thank you for showing us the best,
of Mom.

Thank you for all the love,
that you knew how to give us.

Thank you for being my dad,
for simply being there.

Hello little dreamer,
I'm your adult self.

Being an adult isn't as magical as you think.

There are no great dragons,
but there will be
many cowards,
stabbing your back.

There are no great castles,
but there are treacherous ones,
losing their courage.

Thousands of tears will fall down your cheeks.

You will cry a thousand times,
for love.

Another 5,000 times you will get angry.

But everything has a meaning.

We embrace our mistakes,
and we love our wounds.

But we achieved
everything we dreamed of.

We fell,
but we learned to get up.

We have everything we wanted,
someone with tender eyes came to heal our hearts.

But I just want to tell you,
to enjoy life.

Enjoy every moment,
live, because
every moment will be a memory,
in your soul.

The essence of crystal
is not fragility.

It is delicate,
transparent.

Elegant,
subtle.

Brilliant,
luxurious.

­Our soul is crystal.

We walk through life feeling alone,
we walk longing for a deep connection.
We want to relate from a different place,
we don't want from superficiality,
we don't want from armor.
We long to be authentic,
we long to show our vulnerabilities,
we long for others to dare to show theirs,
we long to build something meaningful,
we long for a connection that transcends who we are.
Sometimes I feel like I need someone to constantly tell me they love me, as if I'm looking outside for the love I'm unable to give myself.
Maybe I'm hoping someone will value me,
maybe I can't see it,
maybe I will see it,
could it be that everything I'm looking for?
could it be that it's within me?
what if my fears are preventing me?
Maybe it's me who's not allowing it?
Maybe I'm afraid I'm not enough?
Maybe I feel undeserving?
What if, by showing myself as I truly am, you decide you don't love me anymore and take another path?
And if that happens, will I be able to handle all the emotions that will course through me? Will I be strong enough to face whatever may come?
I feel like I'm the one who sets boundaries.
I think about setting them for others.
I don't do it for fear of confrontation.
I don't want to live in a constant battle,
not be on the lookout for who crosses my boundaries.
However, when they are crossed, the fear of being alone reappears.
If I don't connect,
I don't risk losing anything.
Even though it doesn't build anything.
Even though I don't have it in myself.
Is it a lack of trust in myself?
Or is it that I don't trust you?
Afraid you'll hurt me?
Afraid you won't value me like others do?
Did I know they were giving me?
I never knew how much I was giving,
nor how much I was really receiving in return
for something as valuable as my being.
I'm afraid of criticism,
even though I'm the one who criticizes myself the most.
He punishes me for every step I take,
focusing only on the bad.
No matter what I achieve,
I always find the negative.
Could it be that I want to be something I've never been?

They call me crazy,
because I want to love again.

I want a good love,
the one that brightens your mornings.

When the nights are short,
between laughter and laughter.

The one that when the wounds are scraped,
you talk.

The one that motivates you to get out of bed,
with the plan of going to the moon.

It whispers "I love you" in your ear,
because only you should know.

The one that just a glance,
says everything and says nothing.

In another life, I was a sailor and I kissed your lips.
In another life, we lived in a cave, and we warmed each other with the fire of our love.
In another life, you were my princess,
And I was a simple blacksmith.
Two worlds, a sincere encounter.
In this life, we chose each other, as in other lives, out of simple desire.
In the next life, I will recognize your gaze and choose you again.

She asked me,
if I was happy when I was with her.

I said no, I didn't know what happiness was.

You weren't the problem,
the problem was me.

Even if I had had a thousand women,
none of them would have made me happy.

Now I'm happy.

One gray afternoon,
with a struggle in my chest,
I allowed myself to doubt my manhood.
I opened the search engine and typed:
"Image of a masculine man."
I expected Vikings, a lumberjack,
Maybe a cowboy with a fierce gaze.
But no, they were normal guys.
Like you, like me.
And in my mind I thought:

I'm not that man who used
arrogance as currency,
my strongest side is confidence.

I'm not that man,
who doesn't cry,
who doesn't show his feelings,
and whose tears flow.

I'm not that man,
who controls and imposes,
I'm that man who guides, helps, and builds.

I'm not that man who uses
chivalry as superiority,
use as kindness for all equally.

I'm not that man,
who measures his manhood by his gaze.
Self-care isn't vanity,
it's self-love,
another sin.

I'm that man,
who doesn't compete with others,
I only challenge myself,
and I want to win.

I'm that man,
who wants to take care of my children,
parenting skills,
and my partner equally.

Let no one expect anything from me.
I have my values,
and I won't doubt that.

THIS IS ME! ​​AND THIS IS MY MANHOOD!

So if being a man
is just about meeting expectations...
I don't know, bro,
could I have come out of the closet? Hahaha.