someone said she would drop everything in her life for love. another said she would give up her dreams as a dancer to be a wife and a mother.

people say a woman must compromise or sacrafice her work in order to have love and a family. "you can't have both," they say.

i beg to differ.

"work is love made visible."--khalil gibran

i want both. i want both, a manifestation of my dreams and love. they go hand-in-hand as free choice and destiny do. choosing one over the other does not compute.

so when a man ask, "why are you single?", i ask "why? can you hang?"

can you...

...hold me during nights when i feel my busy life is caving in, to comfort me and to listen till i feel better enough to start the struggle again?

... strengthen my convictions? challenge my views by not walking away when i want to have an intellectual conversation? can you hang being challenged yourself?

... understand if i can't see you on every single night because am pulling an all-nighter trying to finish projects?

... flex an independant thought?

... put the fist in pacifist? can you help me fight the good fight?

... allow me to get inside of you? the very place you close people off? can you be vulnerable enough for me to hold your burden long enough so you can regain strength? can you reciprocate?

... trust me enough to place your fears in my hands, knowing i will never ever throw it back in your face?

... can i lay with you, breathe in your silence, but exhale sighs knowing you understood what i just did?

can you hang?

so with that, this is why i am single. i am in it to win it and i want it all...