Love is a luxury
for people like me who
have fleeting crushes like cravings for
fried chicken wings that are too quickly replaced by
kimchi. The curls that taunt my memories
every second shifts the very next day to brown eyes that
are too kind to call my own. Penning sonnet that
swoons over that special bass voice soon switches
to a velvety remark from a dentist.

Love is a luxury
for people like me who
have no time for proper dates. Each
precious minute is used to sketch a poem
or write abstract colours in my head for what is
hopefully my masterpiece to be. Even when I sleep,
I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas from
a dream that might just be the next bestseller, if only. The
social outings I have are mostly connected to a
brush, a pen or a spoon.

Love is a luxury
for people like me who
lives to roam and wander than to settle
in a spot. The safaris that scream for lions to
be seen. The pyramids that pull the Pharoahs
in me to prance around the world, propelling Carpe
Diem! The islands with idyllic beaches for the mind to
take a break and be idle but that is never true. I find myself
meeting men whom I cannot keep up
with the distance.

Love is a luxury
for people like me who
needs solitude in order to create. Muting
multiple chat groups often gets me into trouble. Sometimes
I find myself cutting short family conversations simply
because a word needs to be written. The idea of talking
with a lover every night seems to be a hike to the moon.
Perhaps someday when the moon moves closer
to me, love may warm its way into my life
but till then, love of this kind
IS a luxury.

Cover image by Angelina Bong. Titled FLAMES OF LOVE, it’s a 16 x 20 inch acrylic on canvas.