Letters for us

Letters for us, in the present and future after a sleepless past

By Thảo Đinh

My midnight eyes became entranced
How easily does one’s soul light up at the thought of sunshine’s laughter?
Golden fields and stardust painted your hair
Intense eyebrows fixing your hazel gaze

Time 
melts away on your palms 
And I hold onto them, gently planting seeds of warm caramel kisses, sowed in crystal clear memories

Like a dream curling up on the sleepy bright blue boat rocking along Nyhavn’s canal on an August afternoon last year

Like a Renaissance painting of a wavy-haired mermaid and a curly brown-haired sailor clinking their shiny chalices delicately shrank into a 2.75 x 4.75 rectangular paper frame

Like a leisurely Friday movie night watching “Inception” for the first time, for me, when the lights dimmed and I couldn’t bring myself to move even a cm closer on your soft couch

I turned the cards over
regardless
Unveiling the forbidden future
I took a peek
in pain, in disbelief, in helplessness

Yet, mostly
ultimately
in Hope

Hope that there will be a night 
Like tonight
You’ll wear a red tie
to match my red dress
The one I ironed since Monday and tossed in the laundry at 11PM on Thursday because I’m nervous about our first date
We’ll dine in a fine restaurant
refusing to let go of our hands
and our blending lips, sealing a sacred vow
We are music itself, side by side, rthymth by rthymth, expanding the lilac horizon with our Texas two-steps

Only then can I finally sigh 
in relief
in pure happiness
knowing that you’re mine
Fully mine
Fusing our souls, breaking our shells
So we can have someone to rely on
So we can have faith in love again
So we can grow better together under the protection of the cosmos
Did you know I’m willingly giving my all
To you

From this moment on
We are official
From this moment on
We’ll hold hands in public
And my friends knew
And your friends knew
And Addisyn and your mother knew

And they’re happy to see us together
Hey Gav,
I’m happy to see us together
I have dreamed about it
since August 2022…

P.S: Em yêu anh.