One With Beauty

Philippines, 2018

I’ve been afraid to look

Lest the beauty overwhelm me

Lest the currents overpower me

Lest the thunderous joy shake my world

And crumble down the weak temples

I have worshipped

You said,

“Do not be afraid,

I want you to look.

Do not hold back,

I want you to feel.

I want you to feel everything.

To linger in it.

To bathe in it, to bask in it.

Without fear.

Without holding back.”

Now I look with the depth of my soul

I do not hold my breath

In the face of beauty

I breathe in everything

I let it envelop every part of me

Until it overwhelms every sense

And I become one

With beauty

© 2025 Marieke de Koker