how do i not love thee
whose eyes are glowing
akin to the first sliver of warm light
in the early morning?

how do i not love thee
whose voice and movements
are crisper than the sound of violins
and more graceful than a dove’s flight?

how do i not love thee
whose heart gleams with the hope
of betterment, of happiness,
of safety and a burning passion?

how do i not love thee
when even the moon looks down upon
the silhouette of apollo
reincarnated?

how do i not love thee
when cupid’s arrow has struck so deep
that the sole reason troclaim an ineffable love?

—

if there’s a reason to dream, to laugh, to live and love,
then there is a reason for me.
(it is thee.)

i won.
at least, that's what it
felt like.

it was a burst of
pure adrenaline rushing to and fro
in the depths of my body.

i will never find anyone
as lovely as him.

no matter how hard
i mine,
or borrowed,
or stole,
there will be no
diamonds
worth as much as the ones
in his eyes
at that moment
that seemed to take him
to his paradise.

it feels like it's just you and i;
four knights, two kings,
and two queens
on the edge of the match.

two teams of darkness and light
trapped inside four walls
enveloped in white noise and
the rush of blood through green-blue veins.

time stands still when you are close
and my heart still races
minutes after you make a move
that pushes me closer to my downfall.

i wait with bated breath.
i wait.
and i wait.

you make a move:
"checkmate."

i am fascinated by the human emotional spectrum.

when i see the humorous glint in their eyes,
the pale skin due to heart-wrenching horror,
or the fire they seem to hold in between their closed fists
i am once again reminded that humans,
though extremely fragile,
have the power to penetrate from within the viewfinder.