petrified, frustrated, and stagnated drowning in a sea of disillusionment thanatos finds me and whispers in my ear βcome with me and your pain will disintegrateβ and the temptation to follow him is great I hate living in such a terrible and inhumane world
a wolf in sheepβs clothing got to me he pretended to be my friend with endless compliments and fake empathy Until one day I found out who he really was a liar ,a psychopath and I called him out and blocked him from my universe when he said he didnβt do no wrong when he said, he just liked his βprivacyβ and offered no apologies after a decade long lie which added to my trust issues but at least it opened my eyes enough to kick him out of my life and while I still make poetry out of him (he gave me too much material to ignore) Iβm grateful heβs out of my life life is too short for entitled Brads, Chads,and Kens who think that just because of their privilege they can get away with ANYTHING
many took bets on how long theyβd last between the age gap, the difference in cultures they didnβt stand a chance yet, they kind of made it work for more than a decade yet, they still raised three fine young men for almost 20 years and while their incompatibility caught up to them and they had to end their love story they rebuilt it on the foundation of the love they once shared and in the best interest of their children and evolved into a healthy story of friendship where any resentment and anger has been buried and there are no hard feelings over past grievances where they support one another and are finally the parents their children always deserved
that cabinet also brings purpose to my life- it holds almost all of my stories
Open mics, family, karaoke nights, dance parties, Tarot readings, poems written on sticky notes, Epiphany after epiphany about how I have always been worthy, Long conversation about life in coffee shops, Trips to my dadβs hometown, sharing silly verses with friends making dumb videos, coffee cups that say main character energy dancing in car while I drive, taking picture of the moon and everything else that brings me joy, and every single experienced Ive lived, every single person Iβve loved is what my lifeβs purpose is about Itβs joy,hate, love, anger, empathy, envy it all brings purpose to my wretched everyday existence
while Iβve been obsessed with everything that has gone wrong with my life Iβm learning to finally acknowledge everything that went right always been blessed to have a community of friends who loved and accept me as the crazy and creative mess that I have always been for that I am most grateful to the universe the ultimate gift of friendship
Reddit wants to make sure Iβm real and not a spam bot and even I ask myself this today as I feel completely numb as I feel like my emotions are turned off And Iβm a new kind of mellow the kind of mellow thatβs a zombie functioning and existing with a stoic demeanor feeling completely detached from who I truly am over medicated and toned down to barely subtle static and white noise Is this what itβs like to be normal?
blankness spills across her pretty face no distinction between her and the marble her hands and feet are still watches herself say the right words and make the appropriate gestures nothing makes sense in this moment rage burns inside of her she smiles and nods politely as they talk about the weather
the downpour from this morning made me uber emotional driving through a flood, trying to not lose control of my car and with God by my side and Olivia Rodrigo on the radio I made it to work the downpour didnβt stop and my coworker mentioned it was an upside world when the morning looks like evening and the dreadful weather triggered the on switch to my depression and out pours the thoughts about grief and death the downpour of my emotions started and nothing could stop it
me in my luchadoras gear ready to go into my second job
I channel the luchadoras before me the ones who had to work in the chacras to provide for their families, the ones who had to work with their bare hands to build generational wealth the ones who survived infidelities, abuse, and tragedies and still came out on top as Queens the ones who never had the option to lay down and princess to be doted on, be taken care of they had to become working class luchadoras for the betterment of themselves and their families
I wrote this poem in January of 2024 for my friend Rosie who died in 2023.
me right after I wrote this poem
it was a wintry and rainy day in Georgia when last goodbyes were exchanged between you and and your boys you were thousands of miles away in Texas, in your hospice bed I imagine you were full of peace in your last conscious moments finding comfort in your faith and accepting this was part of Godβs plan but I-I carried rage that you were leaving everyone behind rage your husband would become a widower, rage your sons would grow up without a mom rage for the grief of everyone who would have to live without you rage that on the 29th of June, there wouldnβt be a random happy birthday from you for William, Miguel and all of the babies in our July mommy group born on that date rage that I didnβt get to know you better and that rage broke my brain, and I drove without a destination maybe it was your spirit that led me back to the safety of my boys but almost a year later I still carry that rage of how I donβt understand why God took you you who still had more than love to give and receive you who was the warmth of a sunny day in human form What was the purpose of your sudden departure?
this is inspired by the 2006 poem, “did I ask for your advice”
well meaning unsolicited advice and opinions from others Made me feel like I was a failure like I wasnβt doing enough to better myself it always comes after a life changing event- a new baby, marriage, and most recently my divorce In my 20s it drove me crazy In my 40s I nod, smile, take whatever is helpful and move on
my life flashed before my eyes as a fog took over my mind and body What would happen to my ex? What would happen to my kids? they canβt function without me Iβm the one who makes sure the rent and electricity get paid Iβm the one who always takes the initiative to better our family Iβm the one whoβs trying to break generational curses so my kids donβt suffer as much as I did my life flashed before my eyes, and I mentally prepared a list in my head of every one of my childrenβs milestones i would miss out on if God took me now and as the fog finally started to lift I thanked God for his mercy and understood the message from the universe I really need to take better care of myself my health can never be taken for granted Iβm too important for my family, my friends to learn to live without me this was my great awakening
another new year is here another season of my life will soon be renewed more chances for new experiences and adventures more opportunities to fuck things up and give fodder to the inner critic in me to emotionally beat me up more time to question myself am I doing enough for me and my kids to prosper more moments of joy and laughter with my boys as they get older and continue to find their autonomy more grief and sadness as the working class and marginalized communities continue to be stepped on more memories made that ignite a spark of creativity within me another new year another transformation under construction
the real tragedy is no one has gotten me this cake yet
ancestor, ancestor- which alcohol goes best with making shitty life decisions ancestors says, not the PBR, not the michelob ultra light, itβs too basic of an energy for the kind of epic shitty life decisions you tend to make donβt reach for the margarita wine either, too obvious, too much of a cliche and you already have plenty of them in your poetry Go for the Guiness six pack make your shitty life decisions with some English class since most of your terrible decisions tend to include some asshole whose ancestors are colonizer Englishmen