of poems and stolen pieces

i saw this back last month in Jake's multiply, and i just thought he was nothing short of a lit genius. ooh, and he takes really nice fotos, too :)

ang galing. that i was i could muster.

i like you just because
by Jake

I like you.
And I know why.
I like you because when I tell you something special
You know it’s special
And you remember it
A long, long time.
You say,
“Remember when you told me something special?”
And we both remember.

I like you because
You don’t pretend to listen, when you don’t want to listen
But sometimes you do.
That’s because I need an ear.
So you keep nodding in agreement as if you understood every single word I just said
And we both end up knowing that you didn’t get a thing.

I like you because
You pay for your own fare and I pay for mine.
You don’t pretend to take out your coin purse and wait for me to say something…
(3...2...1...Zero.No? Nothing? Nothing at all?)

When I think something is important,
You think it’s important too.
When I think something is ridiculous,
You think it’s ridiculous too.
When I say something funny, you laugh.
I think I’m funny. You think I’m funny too.
I like you because
You know where I’m ticklish and you don’t tickle me there.
Except just a tiny bit. . .
Sometimes.
Stop!

You know how to be silly.
That’s why I like you. You’re silly.
I like you because you know when it’s time to stop being silly. Maybe day after tomorrow.
Maybe never.
Oops! Too late!
It’s quarter past silly.

I like you because
You laugh at yourself, and you don’t mind if I laugh at you
If somebody makes a complete fool of himself in front of us
We don’t have to say a word…
We become two giant Thought Bubbles—
Mine says: Are you seeing this?
Yours says: You bet I am.
Our Thought Bubbles go together so well we could be a comic strip.

When we eat out
You know I’d love to have that last French Fry.
Hiding at the bottom of the carton
Its head peeking through the corner
I like you because you just let it be
Though I know you’re dying to have it too.

That’s because you really like me
You really like me, don’t you?
You like me. And I like you back. And that’s the way we keep going.
And going.
Everyday.

When I am feeling sad
You don’t come comforting me right away
You just sit there.
Sometimes it’s better to be sad
You can’t stand others being so happy
Every single moment.
Like they were acting out a Brady Bunch scene.
You want to know things. It takes time.
You want to feel a tear caressing your face.

I like you because
If I am mad at you
Then you get mad at me too.
It’s awful when the other person isn’t.
They are just so nice and so hoo-ha you could just punch them in the nose
And get away with it.
I like you a lots because of that.

I like you because
When you pass gas
I don’t have to pretend I'm busy
Looking outside the window and all that
I say something like: "Maybe you should stay away from camote for a while"
And you say: "Maybe."

If I fail, and if you fail too,
Then it is lots of fun to fail.
We both are sorry.
We eat ice cream.
We splurge.
We binge.
We tell everybody exactly what we did and they wish they failed too.

I like you because
When you come up with a great paper
Or a great logline
Or a great idea,
You don’t come up to me and say
“Oh, this suckkks. What do you think?”
No, you don’t. You shove it to my face and you say: I’m a God.
Which you are not.

I like you because—I don’t know why—but—
Everything that happens is nicer, with you.
I like you because…because…because…
It’s December 25
On November 25

And if you and I had some drums
And some horns and trumpets and cheap firecrackers
We could be a holiday
We could be a celebration
We could be a whole parade.
See what I mean?
Even if it was the nine hundredth and ninety-ninth of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place in particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over
Again.
That’s how it would happen every time.
I don’t know why.

I like you.

***
and now am tired. i copy/pasted this entire thing, line by line. yess. hurts in the eyes. but yeah, reading it again will make up for it :)

i wish i'd come off this poetic. hay. hats off to Jake :)

***

and yeah, maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to find that one i could tell, hey look someone wrote about us :)