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| Artcard by Jamila Estanislao |
This Valentine’s special, Casa Chronicle’s Literary Team presents an anthology about the different kinds of love and how it intertwines itself in our lives. May these poems bring comfort when you find yourself in the shoes of these writers’ persona.
“Love Personified: You” by Claire Alcantara
Even back when I was a child
When dreams and curiosity intertwined,
“What is love?” seemed to be a question with answers I had yet to find.
While watching lovers stroll beneath the evening star,
Could their love be measured by their distance apart?
Or by the fleeting emotions that fill the heart?
In moments of rain and when under the same cover,
Does the wetter shoulder love better?
Or is it the one who holds the umbrella over?
But as time unfolds,
I came to realize that love knows no bounds
Nor can it be measured on certain grounds.
Love is not quantifiable by degree,
Nor can it be dictated by proximity
For these feelings aren’t easily dismissed by the distance between you and me.
In the little moments, love resides.
It rests in us, from opposite sides of the room, throwing each other secret glances
And in understanding each other even in the middle of silence.
Love manifests itself in various ways – a notion I have proved to be true.
It can be in kindness and patience, says a few
But it just so happened that love came to me in the form of you.
“for you, i am” by Samantha Sopeña
—an emotional mess.
i lock myself in my stoicism, in my charade
an image crafted for the public, i remain
no trace of sadness, fear, or guilt in my wake
and yet in your presence, i bloom
in your presence, i heave, and there i stand,
for you, in truth,
an emotional mess.
—an air-headed ditz.
miss independent, i call me
smart, reliable, steadfast, knows every which way
carrying the weight of my world without any complaints,
i pride myself in the responsibilities i uphold
and yet in your presence, i fly
in your presence, i fly with no tethers
my brain a cloud of childish glee, and there i exist,
for you, in truth,
an air-headed ditz.
—a lover girl.
i vowed once that i would never fall in love,
that i was better than the fickleness of it all
i saw the mistakes of generations past and present,
everyone moved by what they called love, and i vowed then,
that i would never, and i would be better than it all
and yet in your presence, i blush
in your presence, i blush, and i giggle, and i’m butterfly-filled
butterfly-filled with the air of you, and there i am,
for you, and maybe only you,
a lover girl.
—a martyr.
there is no shame in me when i confess my selfishness
i do not condemn myself for the way i protect my own
there is no regret to be had in my instincts
and yet in your presence, i give
in your presence, i give, and i give, and i give
i give where i could’ve taken, and there is no regret to be had there,
so in your presence, i give, and there i am,
for you, my one,
a martyr.
“first day of the second month” by Aliyah “Apollo Kenji” Llanes
it is a verse about you
i had yet to tempt myself to wax poetic
over the little glances that is dubious
or the light grazes that leaves a phantom imprint
or your essence per se
yet here comes the angels sing
when you cross my mind
or haunt me in my deepest slumber
or your scent that passes through
giving an illusion of your presence
my hands can’t seem to reach for yours
you have your back turned against me that i know
yet i can’t still seem to get
that i never been in your view
like how you were always in mine
this verse is about you
always seems to be about you
the only thing i know is nothing
other than to hang around
musing over one time, two times
—like a fool, always like a fool.
“Love Letter” by Edgar Moses Oliva
To you, who smiles like the sun
Despite your lovely smile, you kept to yourself
The opposite of the sun, as a matter of fact
Yet your aura is but one-of-a-kind
To you, my supposed beloved friend
What is it that’s in your mind?
Your seriousness is something that I adore
Come, if you may, and I can be your rest
To you, the person that I dreamt of
Not a day passes that I don’t think of you
Your laughs, your words, and your cheesy jokes
It never fails to make me grin in delight
To you, the root of my unrequited love
There will be days when the world is against you
I will be here, adoring you from afar
So don’t you ever say that you are unloved
To you, who smiles like the sun
Your radiance thawed this icy heart
Even if this love of mine ends up unreciprocated
I would do anything for you to smile.
“Thank You for Lying” by Emy Fagerstrom
To the memory of you who saw past the forgotten girl
With memories tinged rose from a bittersweet black
You instead spun pink and gold along the lines
And forced a sweetness to the tears
Still questioning as to why you revered every insecurity
And admired each misshapen curve and jagged edge
Cracks filling the skin, running deep
And planted soft blooms into the deep
Mind filled with hazy doubts as to why you even bothered
But instead of resentment, I only feel a fond joy
Nostalgic blues interlacing the warmth of the memories
The hues turning muddy and befuddled, unsure of myself
There was no malice to what you did, that I know now
But before, even as I smiled, I remained cautious
With each kiss forward, two skittish steps back
I was met with patience and understanding, maturity unbefitting
But was it really unbefitting? Was it really innocent?
As the love you gave was great, the years even greater
The affection I feel as I remember your touch
Will forever be pervaded with a strange sense of guilt
So to the memory of you, I curse and condemn
I ache for the lies that you told me, the truths stinging more
A longing returned, even for merely a hazy summer
The only chance I had to love and be loved, by the you that lied.
“Don’t Put Flowers on My Grave” by Dinesse Abadia
And if, from another lifetime, you wished that in all the other lives we get to live,
within all the other universes that exist,
we’d still end up together, then I guess this one failed you.
We had a different kind of love.
The kind of love so broken it painfully burned,
as the suffocating smoke turns into the ghosts of our past.
The kind of love that failed to endure and reach the heavens above.
In this version, we were bound to be lost and alone,
unforgiving and scarred,
in misery and well…. dead.
Or maybe it was just me along with our withered love
—while you were meant to wish for someone else across the cosmos.
“Love from The Other Side” by Madz Rodrigez
Many years have passed
But it feels like yesterday
When you laid your head on my lap
And you closed your eyes
Upon the warm sunlight
That glazed over us on the rooftop.
Since then, every day I've been walking around
With a knife stabbed in my chest
You've been gone way too soon
And the memories of you kept playing in my head.
"Is there still a point in living?" I ask myself.
As the world around me slowly turns black and white.
One day, as I went on a trip to the clouds,
I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
And as soon as I tilted my head back,
There they were, the love of my life.
Tears suddenly burst like a flood,
As the light of my existence brought me to a hug.
After so long, I once again felt loved.
They whispered to me and said,
"Shhh... It's okay. I will forever be with you...
..Even if death just pulled us apart."
Tears keep running and running down my face
Wishing them to always be by my side.
But their smile gives me a message,
A sign that tells me that I should burn my dread
and continue my journey up ahead.
Since the trip to the clouds ended,
The world is being filled with colors again.
Making new memories and finding joy in our world
Whether it is the small things or the people around me.
However, one thing never changed.
I can still feel their love in my heartbeat
Even if they stayed on the clouds above.
And the memories and the feeling of love keep me alive.
To my love from the other side,
I will always love you and keep you in my heart always.
And one day, we will once again be together,
Hopefully forever.
“A garden of golden memories” by Kriszel Catarroja
I always thought my heart was a garden,
where people would pick the most beautiful flowers
with colorful petals blooming through the morning,
and the strong scents from the jasmines, lilies, roses,
lavenders and hyacinths freely flowing through the air
until the night comes and they all leave my heart empty
and took out all of the beautiful pieces without giving me time to prepare for the pain
I despised myself as I tried so hard to plant more seeds,
leaving footprints on the soil that I can never erase no matter how much soil I use.
It came to a point when I closed the garden, building fences over it.
One day, the warm breeze whispered “someone is here to visit”
and the intrigue was stronger than hesitation, so i opened the door
and it revealed the people I considered my companions and my partners in life,
sincere and warm smiles painted on their faces
I remembered that love of different forms flourish in my garden,
love from the ones who stayed even when there were no flowers left in the beds,
who visited even during the cold and winter nights,
love from the ones who chose to appreciate every flower in the garden,
and never left despite witnessing the withering leaves and the dying trees.
love from the ones who helped put out the fire when my garden was burning,
because I loved too wholeheartedly and passionately until it hurt.
love from the ones who sat in the silent corners, waiting for me
to come outside so we can admire and count the stars above
love from the ones who planted seeds without my knowledge
to grow more beautiful flowers when I had already given up
I accepted the fact that my heart was indeed a garden,
built and filled with love, despite all the flaws and imperfections
despite all the footprints and names engraved too deeply into the ground
and despite all the storms and hurricanes that swayed its entirety
they are the other forms of love that will keep me alive
they are the other forms of love that I will continue to cherish.
“An Ode to the Sun, A Farewell to the Moon.” by Novem Zaragoza
You who watch over me when I am at my darkest, this will be my goodbye.
I no longer need your comforting moonlight and guidance in sight,
For I have found my purpose in chasing the bright and glorious sun in the sky.
Be free from my bond and know that this is for the better; please let this be alright.
I know I once whispered every night how much I will love you ‘til the end of time.
However, my love for my dreams, my sun, grew more potent than the one I had for you.
I apologize if I let you believe that I can sacrifice my ambition, and we’ll be just fine.
Even so, that would be unfair, for the love that we will come to nurture would be untrue.
Oh, glorious sun, how bright you scorch me, but that I can endure.
“Too much, too close,” they say as I chase you, my dream, with burning intensity.
No matter how scorching the heat is, I know that for you, I am sure.
With this, they compare me to Icarus, but even as I burn, I know you are my destiny.
I will never stop until my dream is achieved,
For that is the love I have cherished more so than the last.
Moon, know that my feelings for you were once true; now, they are to be grieved.
It was not strong enough; that’s why my once constant present is now the past.
Sun, no matter how intense you burn, please embrace me with your scorching flame.
Welcome me with the glory you have promised as I strive to fly high.
Moon, I thank you for the comfort you gave for a brief moment even if I didn’t love the way I did once claim.
Once again, for you who watched over me at my darkest, this will be my goodbye.
“my love is mine” by Gabby Busto
my love is mine,
she wears a huge “hello i am…” name tag
my name plastered all over her
and has a sticker saying she is my property
my love is mine,
sometimes I am embarrassed of her
especially when she does these crazy grand gestures
when she likes someone
my love is mine,
there are moments when i want to keep my distance from her
because rumor has it that she is too much
and i am starting to believe them
my love is mine,
I find myself rolling my eyes
and angrily reminding her to—
“tone it down!” “make yourself more digestible!”
my love is mine,
i can count the days when shame eats me up
when i look back on her story
and call her "foolish", "stupid", and everything along those lines
but my love is mine,
we mirror each other’s glossy eyes
I sit with her,
as I patch up her gaping wounds
my love is mine,
I hug her tightly
and we pick up her broken pieces
even if both of our hands sting from the cuts
my love is mine,
so i apologize to her
for all the times I made her feel small and refused to give her the space to exist,
for all the times I hated her
my love is mine,
I am trying to accept her in her entirety
I am learning to speak kindly to her
and treat her better than others did
my love is mine,
so i get angry in behalf of her
because she did not deserve the pain
when pure was all she was
my love is mine,
she still parades herself with my name
but this time i just let her,
with a proud gaze, i let her exist loudly
my love is mine,
and she exists in me
I whisper—
“do not ever shrink yourself again, take up space
—and let them deal with it.”
