as I grow older
I realize life is perspective
and my perspective may differ from yours
but that’s the culture-defining who you are - 
a problem,
where being labeled by everyone
is common,
where what they know is far from
knowing the truth ’bout someone,
but that’s the culture
where if you ask questions –
you are is stupid
but first question you’re ever asked is
who you are?
what absurdity
it’s like asking the sunrise
are you the sun?
and
expect anything but ‘art’
or a dad joke ‘hot’
excuse me
what answer you expect from a human that every now and then
is not what it used to be
but is falsely misleading his true self
through subjective self-examination
which isn’t required to be present,
and answer an unanswerable question?

– perception

perception is how you manipulate people
perception is what the definition of a definition is
the perception that you have a definition of this and that
you are deceiving  –
and cry me not that you are believing this bullshit because you see it
’cause you see your life through eyes, not ears
and years
will still pass by until you hear me
but please!

perception –
you get when she smiles back,
you feel her,
but you can’t hear
because you are in love and the birds are loud
believe me you are not here!
perception’s just a lens we use to explore the inside world through the world outside,
and we store our feelings
dancing between what’s real and not.

perception shapes us into the stories we are told
translating the input into feelings and feelings into output,
you are a simple manifestation of the world you live in, a recording of the history before you, and feelings are the captions expressed through words that are kind of silly

[…]

​

I am in love
the kind of love that I don’t know yet
and oh boy I was in love many times
like
I fall in love with almost every girl that’s pretty
so that’s pretty much everyone

but this time
 

I tell myself that this love is different
not because She’s different
but because there’s no She
It’s only me and,
this love is dangerous,
it leaves me alone with myself as usual
it asks me to behave unusually
it is trained to impose other perspectives on me
and draw me into a circle
but you should have no illusions
about what this is meant to mean
I am the perception
on top of which I built my own worldview
 

[…]
 

so I tell myself how much in love I am
but perception doesn’t let me feel it
it’s like having sex with a condom
you can put whatever love into it
but if you’re protecting yourself you’re not feeling
 

so I tell myself how much in love I am
but I am shutting down my perception
allowing strangers and haters to define my existence
you think you are seeing a different
version of me right now
when you just choose to give me a different definition today
one based on your perception and manipulation of your own reality.
you want me to be,
who you see me to be.
I am no different,
I am no fucking different
than what I use to be when you choose not to look.
Look,
Your perception drives you inside your head,
I know because it has done the same to me.
Your perception drives you inside your head,
It’s the only world you’ve always believed in,
so my question is:

What do you choose to believe in?