𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: “The First Time I Saw You Differently” by Hayden Jam Recto

Layout by: Alexa Robil

Published by: Lady Yoohee Catapang

Date Published: October 2, 2025

Time Published: 6:45 PM

Category: Poetry 

Theme: The Awakening of Hidden Feelings

The camera rests against my hands,

a quiet witness to fading skies.

I thought the sunset would be my subject,

but you laughed, and the light bent toward you.

I tell you to hold still—

though it’s me who trembles,

unsure if the shutter can capture

the way your smile feels like a beginning.

Golden hues settle on your shoulders,

and for the first time I notice—

you are not just familiar,

you are becoming something more.

The breeze brushes past us,

lifting strands of your hair,

and I wonder if nature itself

conspires to frame you better than I can.

The lens sharpens, but my vision blurs;

not from the fading light,

but from the realization

that beauty looks different when it is known.

I’ve seen you countless times before,

yet in this second,

you outshine every horizon I’ve chased—

and I want the world to stop moving.

The world fits itself inside my frame,

but the moment outgrows it;

your eyes hold more depth

than any horizon could promise.

I click—

a small sound, almost shy,

yet it seals a truth I can’t admit:

that friendship is softening into wonder.

When you ask to see the picture,

I shake my head and laugh.

Some photographs are too precious—

they belong to the heart, not the screen.

And as the sky folds into twilight,

I realize I’ve kept more than an image.

I’ve kept the instant

I first saw you differently.