All She Ever Wanted

A scanned copy of the original poem "All She Ever Wanted (In This World of Make-Believing)" that I gave to Charlotte in 1996. Below is the revised version which I gave her a few months ago:

All She Ever Wanted Was
(In This World Devoid of True Believers)

All she ever wanted was a man
who believes that fairies exist
and butterpillars think and caterflies dream

who knows that parallel lines are parallel
only in short distances in respect to
the concept of infinity

who believes that turtles leave their carapaces
only when it is not raining and that
manatees are after all merfolk pretending
to be manatees that look like merfolk

who believes that once is better than never,
and part of forever is better than none

who believes that every day can be Valentine and
Christmas at the same time, while tomorrow can
be everybody’s birthday
(imagine those balloons and candles)

who knows that yesterday can hardly be
someday but will always be more memorable
than any other holiday

who believes that there is someone who believes that
there is someone who, like himself, believes in such
seemingly unbelievable make-believes
in this world of make-believing devoid of true believers

—written in October 1996;
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
(Reprised while listening to
“The Crying Scene” by Aztec Camera
(Stray; 1990, Sire)