why i love

TITLE: why i love

AUTHOR: Oriane Hong

ARTIST: Nika Klee

I love because when I love

it hurts

it bleeds

it scars.

The wounds open;

The eyes close.

I love because when I love

it heals

it harms.

My defenses burn

because of sheer affliction;

my heart drowns

in the sheer ocean of affection;

and I fall down.

I love because when I love

I’m so so

so afraid

but I jump with my soul;

I die by a thousand kills

but I live by a million thrills.

I love because when I love

I could thrive surrounded by death

and feel so alive

just because

of the thrums in my chest

that tell me they’ve loved and will always.

I love because when I love

I scream in my sleep,

but I go quiet to listen to your silence.

I dream in my sleep,

but I wake up to just feel what’s real.

I love because when I love

I bare myself

I bare the blood in my veins

and I show the world

what it is

                to love, to lose.

I love because when I love

I’m vulnerable and you could hurt me;

but I don’t hide under my past,

and I’m aware that forever is an ephemeral

that doesn’t last,

so I live the seconds when they happen.

I love because when I love

I can’t deny the truths I’ve wronged

and I become who I am:

a girl honest in her feelings,

in full candor,

                       in full truth.

I love because when I love

I am human.