Kilig is a word that has no English equivalent… Though, it was not until recently that it has been added to the Oxford English dictionary who would describe the word as “a feeling exhilaration caused by a romantic experience”. So, I guess from a technical standpoint, it is English now, but I digress…

I wanted to write a poem portraying this feeling and how I experienced it. Though the last year has given me my fair amount of romantic heartbreak, I was also surprisingly able to feel kilig for the first time in a while — coming from a truly unexpected source, no less. I wanted to put my honest feelings into writing so that I could interpret what all of these confusing and conflicting emotions were. And I came to the conclusion that I was, sure enough, experiencing something that made me very kilig.

This poem was partly inspired by the song “Flowers for My Brain” by Dear and the Headlights. I was also drawn to the image of wearing my feelings as a flower crown as opposed to having them on my sleeves or tucked away in my heart.

Enjoy!

Kilig

With your permission

I will pick your brain

For flowers to braid into my hair

So I can show the world

That not only do we share the same thoughts

But I am not ashamed to always have you on my mind.