I Choose You, Still

This is a loose English translation of the beautiful poem written by Juan Miguel Severo which he penned (mostly) in Tagalog. You can read his original work here: Pipiliin Kita.

-----

I Choose You, Still

Love is not blind.

The eyes of true love can see through anything and clearer than anyone;
so I thank you, thank you for truly seeing and fully knowing me - the good, the bad, and everything in between - and loving me anyway.
I see you too - your beauty and all your mess - and I hope that you know I love you just as much.

As those who have loved and lost come to mind,
I've come to grips with the truth that it is stupid and foolhardy to demand perfection from love,
from myself, or from anyone.
By and by, I've realized that everyone is flawed and loves imperfectly.
The question I needed to answer was not whether I could find someone ideal and faultless
but whether I could find that one person whose warts, wrinkles, and flaws I could see
and yet choose to love.
Then I found you.

Thank you for choosing me.
I hope you would accept the sole pledge I can offer - that I will choose you over anyone,
over anything, at anytime, over and over again. 

I will choose you on days when we don't see eye-to-eye;
when our opinions clash, our preferences are at odds, our preceptions of the present are different,
and our plans for the future are not yet in synch. 

I will choose you on days when I don't understand where you're coming from,
when I can't see things from your point of view,
and when I don't feel inclined to. 

I will choose you even when we can't give each other what we need,
what we want,
or satisfy each other's desires. 

I will choose you even on moments when all I want is to stay away from you,
not hear your voice, not see your face,
and not like you sitting next to me on the sofa. 

I will choose you even when we forget the promises we've made to each other,
the vows we've uttered on those romantic moonlit nights
when things were new and we believed our love was destined to last forever.

And despite the turmoil we've had to overcome,
the extremely difficult times we endured,
and the often overwhelming circumstances we've had to conquer,
against all the odds,
I choose you still. 

All the years we've had together has taught me
that love is more than a feeling - when butterflies flutter in your stomach or a blush creeps up to your face;
it's more than just a temporary high that fills you with passion
and makes you think as though you're the king of the world.
Love could be all of those things
because what is love if it's not magical,
what is love if it doesn't fill your entire world with color;
but love is so much more than that.
It is not just an intense emotion or experience.
Love is a decision that one chooses to make regardless of what one feels.
No ifs or buts; regardless of pain or shame.
And loving you, ah, loving you is a decision I will not regret making...
not today, not ever.