I wrote this poem in November of 2024.

false words fall from the lips of the supposed chosen prophets
and some people are desperate enough to believe them
some people see hope in those words in a world
that has forgotten about them
I wrote this poem in October of 2024.

in 2021, I ventured from the moon and landed on the ace of pentacles
never expecting to experience a revolution of self love
never expecting to one day feel like I was enough
but when I found myself down and alone
with no one to lift me up
I had to find my inner strength, my queen resilience
to slowly lift myself up and walk and eventually run
towards the light my ancestors turned on for me
it became a marathon of healing with ugly twists
where I stumbled at times
but eventually I found a rhythm in my routine
that was conducive to my healing journey
and I learned to dance with life
life no longer happened to me as I sat quietly
and in my misery
this time I danced with life stomping my feet
loudly and dramatically
no longer caring what others thoughts of me
from that moment on
I became the heroine and my own muse
in my life movie
owning everything that happened to me
Understanding the power and magic
I always held within
had been and will always be too much for others
but it will always be right for me
I wrote this poem in October of 2020.

The stillness in my life makes me insane
Iβm craving an adventure
Iβm craving ecstasy
Iβm craving the unpredictable
To lie in the stillness feels like dying
and I want to live
Live life spontaneously,live life musically
Live a life full of excitement
To live in this stillness makes me feel like
Iβm drowning in a lake of stagnation
I wrote this poem in October of 2021.

I don’t recognize the
Stranger in the mirror-
the me whose face
has more chiseled features
with a stronger jawline
and haunted eyes
There is no idealism
or fantasies of love
in her eyes
Instead, she stares back
at me with a look
of strength and determination-
like she’s saying –
βYou’re your own savior β
and
“There’s no such thing as
Prince Charming”
-“The princess has been left
behind and youβre now a Queenβ
I wrote this poem in October of 2024.

we went from devils to fools within a span of a couple of years
itβs a journey that almost broke us
one that needed to be taken apart
you needed to find out who you were without alcohol
I needed to find out who I was without a lover
and when we met again
I was deathly afraid to let you back in
and kept my guard up
making sure we didnβt fall back into the toxicity
we used to bask in
and various times I thought that meant
blocking you, ghosting you, taking what you said personally
but really it was me being careful with my ego and energy
not wanting to risk another emotional relapse
and the last time I let you go
I really thought we were done
but on a september night, you texted again
And while I tried to keep it platonic
I couldnβt help myself and found myself
in your arms once again
trying desperately to keep it casual,
to say no strings attached at all,
you can leave when you want to
but how can I do this when I keep
thinking about you
and suddenly I find myself a fool
in our journey
I wrote this poem in October of 2022.

I tell myself Iβm not capable of love-
but thatβs another lie
the truth is Iβm very capable of love
But Iβm afraid of it, Iβm terrified of showing my vulnerability
only to once again be proven wrong, to once again go crazy
Only to once again endure the abandonment of another lover
So I lie to myself and say Iβm not capable of love
I wrote this poem in September of 2022.

The moon guards and protects me as I lose my sanity
as I drink too much
as I search for someoneβs touch
the moon sends the Goddess
with a message of awareness
and I wake up from my trance of self destruction
and start an inner healing revolution
my purpose was never to be diminished and objectified
it was my judgment gone awry
and I try respect and worth on for size
my beauty is not all there is to me
Iβm a mosaic of intelligence, love, and creativity
never a barbie to be treated as a reward or trophy
I wrote this poem in September of 2022.

I feel left out by my friends and I cry and whine
βthey hate me, Iβm not good enough for themβ
my voice of reason tells me
βit will be okay, you donβt need themβ
itβs my sister
I break down in the middle of the sidewalk
and cry and scream
βIβm unworthy of love, Iβll be alone foreverβ
my voice of reason tells,
βthatβs not true, you just need to focus on you booβ
Itβs my son
my voice of reason has comforted me and loved me unconditionally
my voice of reason keeps me from going under
I wrote this poem in September of 2022.

the prodigal daughter returns to a homeland that she barely remembers
itβs been 32 years since she stepped foot on Peruvian soil
and this feeling is unworldly-indescribable-unimaginable
she was a child when she left
never quite understanding the whys or hows of her familyβs immigration journey
in her adopted homeland, she suffered through hardships and failures
but the ancestors always protected her
from drowning in the immense waves of chaos and disasters, she ended up being tossed in
and sheβll go to their graves and pay reverence to them for shielding her from danger
the prodigal daughter returns, and she feels nostalgia rushing into her body and mind
she is finally where she belongs
I wrote this poem in August of 2024.

the storms this summer have been intense and scary
Some days I had to run for cover, other days I ended up
saturated in self hate
the storms this summer tried desperately to tear me apart
ruin my reputation
everyone watched me waiting for me to turn into
a trainwreck
but instead I do what I always do
rise out of the ashes most triumphantly
I wrote this poem in August of 2024.

In Faro, magic took place
In Faro, Liv lost her mind
trying to conform
to Ingmarβs vision
of serenity and love
In Faro, Liv and Ingmarβs
story of love started with
silences, longing glances
and art made on the beach
with Godly cinematography
In Faro, Liv felt constricted,
restrained and isolated
and had Ingmarβs love child
In Faro, Liv tried for a year
to salvage a relationship
that was far beyond repairable
and in Faro, Liv put up
her white flag and decided
she couldnβt waste any more
of her life on something
that was never going to work
so she took her daughter
and left
the man, the life she thought
was going to be her forever
I wrote this poem in August of 2024.

pieces of my abuela bleed into my mami which bleeds into me
and Iβm the vessel of the generational trauma inherited
and given the role of cycle breaker
I go against societal norms and conventions
and Iβm always the odd one out
always the one who never belongs, who never fits in
until I find sanctuary in poetry, friendships,
and my own creative community
and while the trauma inherited still lives in me
I find a purpose for it as i share abuelaβs, mamiβs, and my stories
through poetry and slowly those generational wounds
start to heal and turn into scars
I wrote this poem in August of 2024.

jem, brenda walsh, peg bundy, and many more empowered women
made their way to my tv screen in the 80s
when I was an immigrant child living in poverty
these characters helped me understand women are complex
and not the meek and submissive beings
my culture and religion led me to believe
these characters made a strong impression on me as a young girl
I didnβt have to live the story of the mujer sufrida
or saintly martyr
I could just be me and that would be enough
I wrote this poem in August of 2024.

this day of the dead, Iβll pay reverence to my female ancestors
iβll build a shrine with their pictures and letters to honor them
itβs the least I can do do the generational gifts passed down to me
this day of the dead, Iβll pay reverence to my female ancestor
write down their stories and later on share them
remember that doing this heals something in me,
something in them