During my long hours of scrolling through my Instagram feed, I think I daily cross at least 18 or 20 photos of guys who check all features of what I considered to be the ideal man.
A guy who’s a little taller than me, with slight hints of a beard and a personality that shines through his clothing style. I also want him to be funny, kind, responsible, and generous.
I’ll save you the pain of hearing the rest of my list because the one quality that wasn’t on it is now kind of a deal-breaker.
On one of my short trips to Brussels for a college course, I met a guy who showed me around and introduced me to the best Belgian places. Five minutes into our encounter, I was already amazed by how different he was.
Having a unique pair of eyes, he saw the world and talked about it in a way that took my breath away. Immediately, I knew something in him was unusual and now that I thoroughly think about it, I figure this guy is one who truly qualifies as a poetic individual.
Meeting such a person has completely altered what I look for in guys because his qualities were truly irresistible. This experience brings me to share 7 traits that, I believe, define poetic people.
1. They effortlessly make you spill the tea
“If you were a flavor, what would you be?”
That was the first question the guy, let’s call him Liam, asked me. Needless to mention the confusion on my face, I was more waiting for a ‘What major are you in college?” or a “How many countries have you been to?” as icebreakers but ok.
I never thought about what taste I would be before, it was strange territory to me. Even though the question seemed easy enough and somewhat childish, I hadn’t the slightest idea about what to say, but it definitely intrigued me.
Liam sensed I was lost and didn’t hesitate to confidently respond first.
“I would taste like pineapple.”
As more confusion plastered on my face, he explained…
“When you have your first few bites, pineapple is very sweet and fresh, but if you eat the whole thing, its acidity starts to kick in and your mouth can’t help but ache…I’m the same. I think I put on good first impressions but when people get to know me, a lot of my character unravels and it isn’t necessarily as good. I feel like I’m a lot to take sometimes.”
I mean wow right? I already felt like I knew the guy. And with his seamless, unique answer, I was also tempted to come up with something original.
“I think I might be the sweet & sour taste. I’m extremely moody and complicated for others to truly understand, but my friends still love me.”
Who knew I’d admit one of my flaws in my first encounter with this still stranger man. More importantly, I was mesmerized as to the way he made me confess something so personal yet so effortlessly.
Poetic people, like Liam, are creative when it comes to the ‘getting acquainted’ phase. They find unconventional ways to create conversations that flow, have a way with words, and always leave you surprised.
For instance, I wasn’t expecting such a question to become as deep and reveal that much about who we are. But, it definitely did and in more efficient ways than the cliché “first date” interrogation. Him getting to know me felt authentic and not like a chore he had to get done.
2. There’s uniqueness in the way they look
I think it’s fair to state that TV installed this stereotyped image of what a poetic person looks like with hair on the longer side, the cigar they fume before they utter deep words no one understands, sharp facial features, and the classic beret.
Liam looked nothing like that yet his outfit still spelled poet. He was 21 but his physique made him look and sound a lot more mature, like a guy who knows what he’s doing with his life and everything he says makes absolute sense.
His attire wasn’t otherworldly per se, nonetheless, it isn’t what a typical 20-something would put on. Liam was easily spotted within a crowd and had a distinct haircut. It all suited his personality in a weirdly accurate way.
All in all, poetic individuals might not satisfy the picture inspired by movies and engraved in your mind, but they almost definitely carry their unique personality and embrace it through their looks.
3. They shock you with their passion for details
As I mentioned earlier, the main purpose of meeting with Liam was to show me around Brussels. Thus, he did justice to the role of tour guide and blew my mind away with his knowledge.
Whenever we’d stop by a landmark or touristy area, Liam narrated the classic stories behind each monument but with a spin.
He always proceeded with anecdotes and details about past societies that not a lot of people know. I felt as though he had teleportation powers and was telling me inside jokes he’d had with the dead famous people we paid visits to.
Later in the day, he continued to surprise me with his detailed descriptions of the different kinds of Belgian beers and kept going on and on passionately about his favorite blond, strong, abbey beer.
“I’m genuinely impressed! How do you know the process behind the making of every single alcoholic drink known to man?” — I couldn’t help but ask.
It turns out he was studying to be a chemical engineer and was also taking bioengineering and anthropology classes on the side. Regardless, I know for a fact by the manner he was talking about societies, historical figures, and beer manufacturing that he went above and beyond those classes of his.
Poetic people forge a passion for details, they are curious about the world and love to be in the know of interesting facts. They’re very cultured, enlighten those around them and keep their brains thirsty for more.
It made me self-aware of how if it was the other way around, I would sound so unbothered showing him around my city rambling on like boring tour guides. We’re about the same age, yet he kept dropping shock bombs on me with his charming intellect.
4. Describing ‘mundane’ things never sounded more romantic
The charm of people speaking enthusiastically about what they love is irresistible. When it comes to poetic people, it’s that way with everything.
They make random things sound a lot more interesting, take you back to your high school symbolism classes and romanticize the ‘normal’.
I remember in one of our conversations, Liam started relating our opinions on societal rules to the book “The stranger” by Albert Camus. He was able to borrow some of Camus’ great analogies and apply them smartly to what we were debating.
Our deep talk later brushed on the concept of happiness. It’s a very common subject I’ve discussed with a lot of my friends. Nonetheless, Liam was the first to handle the topic in terms of:
“What color do you feel surrounding you when you’re in a happy mood?”
All to say, poetic people have this power to convert anything and make it sound a lot more romantic while still making complete sense. It varied from describing emotions using colors to referencing literary books in the middle of mundane talks.
Thanks to a poetic guy’s powers, I found out Lilac is my happy color in case you were wondering…Who knew?
5. They have a soft spot for Nature
Since I had a very short stay in Belgium, Liam kindly suggested on my next visit to go experience life at his grandma’s house in the countryside.
His offer didn’t sound tempting at all to me. Why would I voluntarily choose to get stranded in a place with a poor internet connection, far from all the crazy fun of the city?
Then, I completely changed my mind. Do you know what convinced me? It was all thanks to the spark in Liam’s eyes when his memories took him back to being surrounded by greenery, farm animals, and his passion for stargazing at the night sky distant from the city’s pollution.
He described the place exactly the way one would do in a poem but it sounded genuine as he poured his heart out.
Similarly, poetic individuals have a thing for Nature and most of the time reserve a special place in their soul for that one venue that gets their heart pounding hard, that one area where they can be one with the outside world.
6. You fall for them twice
I believe I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say the idea of meeting people, like Liam, is pretty fascinating. Since the genesis of movies, our favorite characters are eloquent, elegant, and distinguished from anyone else featured in the film.
It’s irresistible to see one of your fantasies come true before your eyes
That is why I was already infatuated with Liam before I even met him. All this time, his existence was more of a concept than it was a fact, and the day we actually crossed paths, I fell for him all over again.
7. They can read the vibe like no one else
On my last day, all course participants were divided into groups to complete challenges in the span of a big pub crawl for fun. Liam, being one of the organizers, happened to also be the leader of my little party group.
10 minutes into it, Liam knew we weren’t really the crowd for that activity and immediately read our vibe. When he suggested we can chill in his top Belgian pub, everyone let out a small puff of air. I was charmed by the way he relieved us all from doing the challenges.
Needless to state how unique his favorite pub looked: Imagine rooms filled with comfy couches, old pictures of famous literary figures hung all over the walls and ceilings, vintage arcade gadgets around every corner and chill, french music playing in the background.
That was the pub version of his personality!
We stayed on those sofas like the cast of ‘Friends’ has never sat before and uncovered more and more of his genius get to know questions for 5 hours. No one sensed time flying by and it’s fair to say everyone else also fell for Liam.
Key thoughts
There is an inexplicable charm that surrounds the idea of poetic people. They check every little box of what our ideal significant other might be like and add a few more qualities to the list.
Being Don Juan with the words, unashamed to show their uniqueness through their clothing style, and always up to offer interesting insights in a conversation are all hard traits to resist.
The man of my dreams is poetic, as intimidating as it sounds. The thing is it’s probably easier to spot one of those romanticizing individuals than it is to find a generous guy.
For instance, the second I added Liam on Facebook, I immediately see his favorite movie is ‘Dead poets society’ — which simply confirmed my inexplicable attraction to him at the time. He doesn’t hide his uniqueness.
The problem comes down to keeping up with it. I mean, Liam was partly right…He could be a lot to take sometimes for others. Poets through the course of history were known to be lonely gals, switching mistresses or ‘muses’, living in their own bubble but I beg to differ.
People like Liam need someone who doesn’t necessarily share the same vision and opinions but who can at least be open with how they feel and talk about it. If you think you can never be of interest to your poetic crush, don’t worry…They’ll make you effortlessly spill the tea.