.
We disguise ourselves.
This isn’t the colour of our skins. Our flesh betrays only our ethnicities, not our ambitions nor our answers (for what questions? we sometimes wonder). These clothes we wear, they do not make us. We are not nylon and polyester, linen or wool. We would like to think we’re silk perhaps, but no, we’re not even that. These threads will unravel, you can pull them apart. But we shan’t unravel, not even when we fall apart. You will not know us. We are masters of disguise, we are good at what we do.
A hundred strangers passing each other every day in the streets. Our hair spring free, snake and hiss like Medusan tresses, our hair we wrap up in fervent modesty. We do not know each other. We can dye our hair or hide it. We can get a permanent wave or shave it all off. It makes no difference, really. We are not our hair.
Our shoes and our bags. Designer labels scream louder than a gentle word. Prada, Armani, Versace, Gucci; we shorten Louis Vuitton as LV. The more brands we flaunt, the less of ourselves we have to be. Identities can be discarded. We don’t have to be who we are. We can re-design ourselves.
Our hearts? Well, let’s just say we don’t wear ours on our sleeves. Every single way we could get hurt, we will, every single day. No, we rather keep our secrets, and no matter how many tries you make, all we’ll offer you are safe lies and vows turned fake.
.
.
We disguise ourselves, but not always completely.
This is the colour of my eyes. It isn’t black or brown or blue or green or gold. Look into them and you might catch an honest glimpse of me. Here are my dreams and my hopes, everything I ever wanted to be. Here is the ideal me, the imperfect person you can love cos I keep on trying despite failing. I can’t fail all the time, right? I look into your eyes and I see your faith in me. All your love for me. We can’t mistake this, the evidence is irrefutable. Our eyes say it all.
This is your nose, sharp and certain. These are your cheeks, soft as cushions. These are your ears, where I whisper my confessions, all the bad that I am and the worse still that I get — that you will forgive regardless. This is your face, this is mine. We can’t hide anything from each other, the lies and secrets melt away. We let go and just go on.
I trail a finger slowly across your face, from your forehead down to your chin, pull up and rest it on your lips. Tell me anything, my sister my brother my friend my baby, anything you want. Tell me anything and let it be a promise. Tell me anything and let it come true.
.
.
For KT + SC, on their 1st wedding anniversary,
a super-cute couple who reminded me how our faces say it all.
53 Comments
What a lovely dedication to a 1st wedding anniversary.
erm, faces hide secrets as well, yes they do.
but least nobody starts to wear a mask.
Once, as I was getting into my car, a fortune-teller tapped on my window. I rolled the window down slightly & he said to me, “Miss, I can tell from your face that you have good fortune.” I replied, “I know. I look at it everyday.” I rolled up the window & I drove off.
One can see my face but not my heart.
My beauty isn’t my face. It lies within me..
» keropokman
Well, they are without a doubt the cutest and sweetest couple I know (and I know many, many cute couples, hehe).
We have a nickname for them in Mandarin that translates as Meatball Pugilist Lovers
( 肉球侠侣 ). Don’t ask me to explain why though — it’s a very long and complicated story. Also, I’m not sure I understood it the first twenty times it was explained to me.
» J2Kfm
Ah, but if one observes carefully, faces tell all, masks or no masks…
» Jemima
That. Has. Gotta. Be. One. Of. The. Best. Comebacks. Ever.
(Somehow I got a feeling the comments from here onwards are gonna be about Hearts vs. Faces. Adoi, what have I started this time?)
sigh..m i burying myself in brands in a case of confused identity crisis??
» lotsofcravings
No, Joe. Don’t bury brands, buy them. LOL
And there’s no identity crisis if we know who we are. Do you know who you are, Joe? Hmm…
We disguise ourselves.
We try not to let our faces betray our thoughts, our emotions, our innermost feelings. We want to keep them to ourselves, that hurt, that pain. Sometimes we even try to keep joy to ourselves.
But just a glimpse into your eyes, or that twitch at the corners of your lips, or the rosiness of those cheeks, is enough to tell me what it is you are thinking, you are feeling. Your eyes, they are the windows to your soul. Even when your eyes are shut and you are faraway in deep slumber, your contented face tells me about those dreams.
We disguise ourselves. We try not to let our faces betray our thoughts.
And yet when you have no way to see my face, I try to let my words speak for my soul.
Faces say it all. They say all that mere words can never do justice.
Hmmm people who buy branded goods have low self esteem? Are you suggesting that? hehe..
» Michelle
You got it.
» keropokman
Oh, I’m not suggesting that at all… not necessarily. To each his own. I will say that after years of avoiding designer brands, I have recently been educated in the sheer magic of some good threads. That they make me look good.
perhaps that’s the reason why people look into each other’s eyes when it comes to dealing with heavy stuff.
so, basically, the truth is IN there. not OUT there.
insightful post, dude!
kudos!
oh i love these collages the best!!
this gives me an idea… i’m gonna go grab hold of my girlfriends and make silly faces at the camera and make a collage similar to yours…. should be loads of fun!!
» Nic (KHKL)
Yes, it ain’t the X-Files here, but the M-Files. (M for Mush, naturally.)
» lingzie
To be honest, we didn’t take all those pictures with an eventual collage in mind. We were either:
(a) Simply trying to capture one decent moment; or
(b) Camwhoring as usual lah…
Are you trying to hypnotize us so that we tell you everything? I see a finger trailing across my face….I became *cock-eyed* !!! :O
the 1st half: u’ve said wat i’ve always wanted to say, and u’ve done a brilliant job at that. i doubt i can make mine as wistful as urs without getting too ranty ;p
the 2nd half: is that how u get ppl to tell you their deepest darkest innermost secrets kennniiii??? oooh u naughty naughty boy! remind me not to look into ur eyes lest i get spellbound and spill out all my guts (hey, the contents might be pink *hohoho*)
Isn’t it a painful reality though that we’re going to encounter only a handful of characters, if we are LUCKY, who will make that effort to study the truth that our eyes offer openly, uncompromisingly?
I was asked yesterday,”do you wear contacts?”, to which I answered “is that all you can tell from my eyes?” and yes came the reply. People choose what they want to see regardless.
» tigerfish
LOL!! “Follow my finger… listen to my voice… you are very sleepy… very, very sleepy…”
Wow, if this works, I can have a new career as hypnotist-turned-overnight-millionaire! “Listen to my voice… Give me all your money…”
» Jun
1. Heck, I think you can probably do a better job. Just have faith.
2. Eh, maybe cos I usually don’t fancy gossip all that much? Reverse pyschology in play: makes everyone wanna tell me more, more, more instead!
» 550ml jar of faith
Maybe that is all they dare tell you that they can see from your eyes. Hmm?
Ah, for a minute there I was thinking of Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Fight Club’ — we are not our jobs, we are not our cars… Your essay is sweeter and more human. (Even eye colour can be changed with lenses.)
» argus being welcomed to M’sia with open arms
I completely forgot about that book… and David Fincher’s film of it. Don’t you love that scene where Edward Norton’s Narrator is in his apartment as it gets IKEA-ized? Morbid and magical at the same time…
Thanks for saying I’m more human… If it’s anything I like, it’s being human, and more of it can only be fun.
You. will. never. part. me. and. my. Blahnik.
» Lyrical Lemongrass
Nor. Me. And. My. Prada.
pple in Sg,
It will be Me and My *legal* iPhone tonite. LOL..
wonder how long the queue will be? madness!
no, i am not getting it…
» keropokman
I thought iPhones have been everywhere for ages? No wonder you had to add that “legal” disclaimer.
Ah, all this brand consciousness nonsense. Silly-nilly-willy.
P.S. Dear, if you are reading this, the Hugo Boss folks called to say my pants are ready. So nice, kan?
the silly billy-ness also cost a lot of dough. LOL
me got news, a friend is getting hers at 5.30 tomorrow, her ‘allocated’ time to collect the phone. goodness! wonder if she can sleep tonite. LOL…
» keropokman
5:30am??? That’s madness! (Or maybe just kiasu…)
5.30 PM.
The rest are queuing up tonite at 12 midnight.
» keropokman
That’s still utter madness… Me? I’d rather sleep with my nice, comfy old phone by my side. So old that I dun even know what model it is!
How can? How can?
You need a new Prada phone to go with the Hugo Boss pants.
(iPhone will be better of course…)
Old model phone, only when jalan jalan to taman selera / pasar malam with bossini tees only.
» keropokman
Haiya, I wear the new Hugo Boss pants to wedding ma… Got Prada phone wan meh? How come you know? U also follow designer brands hor… LOL
Damn. Singapura gets it first again.
» Lyrical Lemongrass
Do they, though? I’ve seen iPhones on our shores since last year. Ah, we Malaysians… so resourceful, kan?
Kenny,
Yes, ada, Prada phone is by LG. Jangan pura pura ok? Only orang in Singapura pura pura only. LOL..
Cik Serai,
Tak ada Krispy Kreme in Singapura. No Bubba Gump also. That Malaysia got it first..
» keropokman
I only know there’s Armani phone, uhm, by Samsung, yes? I really didn’t know about this Prada LG phone leh. Nice or not?
(How on earth did we go from “Faces” to discussing designer cellular phones?)
P.S. Singapura got everything ELSE first ma.
Prada by LG has been around for some time. Some people say nice, some say no. You can’t please everyone.
Because you were talking about the designer brands. Somehow we are all hiding behind the brands as you mentioned. LOL
» keropokman
True, true, can’t please everyone. That’s kinda the point of life. The lesson we learn at the end of it is to simply be comfortable with who we are and be good to those around us, and not necessarily pander to their every whim or want.
And I’m not a brand whore. I just happen to like my Prada sling bag ma… Not a crime, right? LOL
I didnt even noe tht the iphone is not available in Msia… hahah… tht’s cuz i see my cousins using them. lol~~!
» spiffy
Hahaha, that’s cos us Malaysians… banyak “lobang” ma… Anything you want, we can get it first. Just don’t ask HOW we got it!
hahaha… ur right. we are resourceful! ;o)
» spiffy
That’s actually the “full” version of our national slogan: Malaysia Boleh… Dapat! (Malaysia Can… Get it!) :p
Malaysians are ‘more kaya’, and want the ‘gaya’ too.
Those lobang iphones cost a bomb! If I am not wrong it cost around RM3000 - RM4000 for the lobang iphones. *pengsan*
» keropokman
Not necessarily. The bloke who bought the iPhone early last year got it direct from the States when he went there, and was allowed to purchase two units. Depends what type of ‘lobang’ loh…
I’d actually revise that as: Malaysians not ‘more kaya’ yet still want ‘more gaya’. LOL
love those shots.. reminds me of how the japanese go into booths and pull a million faces and hv em printed on insanely bright background. nice
» cumi&ciki
1. We’re not Japanese.
2. We’re insane though.
hello insane ppl! I love your photos just beautiful and I’m enjoying the expressive faces. Aww.
» msiagirl
Thanks, dear. It’s all about them faces…
aaaahhh! says someone who thought faragamo was a kind of spaghetti dish!
» kak teh
You mean it isn’t? LOL
me no likey brands… if me had thousands o RM to spend me ain’t spending it on one measly item that am gonna get bored with after a month… nope… na-uh… no way, no how… varienty is d spice of life mah fren…
coloured lens.. that I’ll do cos most of the time I can get away with it
but yes… the eyes… d most captivating part of a human’s soul but yet none dares looketh into mine… scared I’ll devour dem alive no???
ok. all kidding aside… everybody now is so hooked onto looks and brands n how big the car u’re driving is… no one bother to look and see how big a soul that person carries… *sigh*.. such a sad cruel fate it be… *sobs*… ok ok… no more charades…
ehhh… totally forgot wat i wanted to say in all dat drama…
v nice post… kiut couple u hv there… here’s to the both of you (not u kenny, the couple…) may u have many more bliss ahead… cheers…
» asstha
I believe I was trying to be a tad tongue-in-cheek where the brands are concerned. Of course, what we have inside of us matters far more than what we wear outside. (Though public nudity is generally frowned upon in most places.)
The ‘kiut’ couple thanks you for your well wishes.
I’m always saddened when I see the face of a child that is hard and old as if they’ve seen too much of the world already, or the face of someone on the train who looks like life has shown them nothing but pain.
But what a joy to see people whose faces can light up a room. I love the series of pix you’ve put up of two happy couples!
» Yang-May
It’s true what you say — it can be hard seeing the sad face of a child mistreated or an old person abandoned. Which is why I believe we should as much as we can and make those around us smile as well.
This is sweet. Really great writing kenny
it certainly gonna melt a lot of girls heart. can i use those lines? 
» jon
Thanks, Jon — can’t match your wonderful photography. Hope we get a chance to work together in the future!
And use them lines all you want, bro!
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