At 41, my mother worked two jobs, raised 3 kids, and still kept the spark in her marriage alive I don’t know how she did it all without ever breaking apart- I don’t remember ever seeing her cry but I do remember her temper, her anger and being afraid of her sometimes
I’m constantly shunned from men who profess their love when I show up feral and without a filter They’ll call me their princess until I show them my wild They always love me beautiful and submissive and they leave when I get assertive and subversive They feel deceived when they fall for a polite princess And somehow end up with an amazon Queen Maybe it’s the Incan in me who can’t reign it in They say, “you’re too much, you’re too crazy” Is there a man out there who can handle my duality?
I forgive myself at 15 for crying over an idiot who was never worth my time and energy but he did spark my poetic voice
I forgive myself at 20 for writing more than 50 poems about a 6 week relationship in 2001 but it did make for some hilarious blog content in 2021
I forgive myself at 25 for not fighting harder for my dreams and for swallowing my anger and angst for the comfort of others but that year I became a playwright
I forgive myself at 30 for drowning the writer in me as I lost myself in my roles as wife and mother but that year I launched my blog
I forgive myself at 35 for swallowing a bottle of xanax because I felt like a failure as wife, mother, and worker but the dark poetry from that time is some of my best
I forgive myself at 40 for wanting to die for two weeks in July after being discarded by the “supposed” love of my life but that summer I found the confidence to call myself a writer
one day the karens will rise up and protest on the streets with their short blond hair auspiciously blowing in the wind and their know it all smirks, armed with latest iphones in their gucci bags with signs that say, live, laugh and love or I want to speak to the manager they’ll stomp in their $100 uggs with a purpose to be seen and heard with a purpose to complain about everything wrong in their world with a purpose to take their name back one will get on the megaphone and talk about the oppression they face because of their name or the pale color of their skin or their higher social status and people-well they’ll laugh at them, they’ll love the absurdity of their message and live for this-the least empowering moment in history
I am restless and unsettled realizing you never loved me I was just another girl to you nothing special, nothing meaningful just someone temporary to pass the time with I’m growing tired of this repetitive story Another love that expires when I ask for something more Another story that starts off with so much promise only to end up as another tragedy
I’m done apologizing for being too much or not enough I’ve always been enough I’m done apologizing for being crazy I’m God’s creation of a perfect imperfection I’m done apologizing for being too bland or too spicy I’m a perfect blend of whatever I want to be I’m done apologizing for being me!
Fighting for my cause I question everything I learned I take time to pause my childhood lies burn and make feel lost
Fighting for my family I get so fucking angry Why are people so shitty? insulting my ancestry- projecting their insecurities onto me- Wait, are they jealous of me?
Fighting for my life I pause of a while thinking about all of my strife and the past I need to reconcile to move forward with my life but this fight is worthwhile
my real diagnosis should be “failure at love” childhood trauma gave me abandonment issues teenage trauma cemented it and added identity issues combined with chronic emptiness I couldn’t stand the constant void within so I chased love trying to fill it constantly sought out validation from men to stop feeling ugly and alone I’ve used them and they’ve used me as band aids for our mutual loneliness and when I start to feel sure of their love it suddenly disappears and all of my issues came back with force with suicidal ideation entwined And still I dusted myself off and tried my luck with love over and over again thinking each time it will be different except it never is they always tire of me and decide to leave and once again my insanity hits and I break Intrusive thoughts spiral in my head in an endless loop “’i’m a failure to love,i’m a failure at love, i’m a failure with love,i’m never enough, i’m worthless, death must be better than this” this was my tragic love story for 26 years but on year 26, I said “fuck this tragic love story” and I got the courage to change it I’m not a failure to love, I’m not a failure at love or I’m not a failure with love I’m enough by myself, I can be alone by myself and I turn into a success story of love
I’m not meant to be loved behind closed doors or only at night or kept as your little secret I’m not meant to be the mistress, the side chick or your on call whore I’m not meant to be devoured at your convenience in 2 hour increments I’m meant to be taken out in public in the daytime and introduced to your family and friends I’m meant to be part of your relationship status, your girlfriend, your partner in crime I’m meant to be paraded and exhibited everywhere but most of all I’m meant to be loved out loud
This is in response to prompt #22:Something all people should know
me reading this poem out loud at open mic
stop allowing the world tell you who you should be embrace who are with all of your imperfections being “flawless ”is a lie sold to us by a consumerist society who uses our insecurities for profit– the countless anti aging creams catered to women of a certain age even more weight loss shakes and gimmicks targeted at everyone feeding us a false narrative that if we are skinnier or younger we’ll somehow be an almost perfect ideal of human be whoever you need be to fit your own brand of happy everything else is bullshit
This was my response to prompt #22: Something all people should know
me eating my pizza contemplating making a passive aggressive post
Stop shaming your shadow self trying to constantly shut it down telling yourself it’s not a part of you it’s been there since you were a child acknowledge it, walk with it Let it be seen, let it be heard even if that sometimes looks crazy or weird Let that bitch or asshole out Otherwise it will consume you
I wrote this in December of 2021 when I got on a new form of hormonal birth control. It’s an understatement to say that it amped up the intensity of my emotions.
I was a mess but at least I was a hot mess…lol
I’ve bled for more than 40 days and 40 nights but my doctor says I need to grin and bear it My hormones are in constant flux I want to die, I want to scream Is God punishing me for my past sins? My mood swings are uncontrollable No matter what I do, I can’t find the calm Anger, rage, sadness, and despair are my emotional staples And within a span of 3 weeks I write poetry at 3am, crash my car, and breakup with my friend When will this madness end? My doctor says give it 6 more weeks but my mind and body are losing it over this 2 inch form of torture Will the next 6 weeks get calmer? or will I go down in infamy?
Easy E,Tupac, and Dr.Dre calmed me down when I was lost amidst a nervous breakdown I couldn’t remember who the fuck I was or where I came from then I blasted some Gangsta Rap in my ear and remembered who the fuck I was I’m a Queen from the land of the Incas raised in West L.A and Paradise I’m made to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes even when they come disguised as humans that’s when I turned my grief into anger and rage and knew I wouldn’t be “just okay” I would make this my greatest comeback in my life story
Soy la sangre de mis antepasados Colonizadores e indígenas y pues por estoy llena de una ambigüedad de moralidad Y pues por eso tengo la tez blanca con cabello negro y crespo
Soy la sangre de mis abuelos y abuelas y pues por eso estoy llena de frialdad y tambien tengo un calor único
Soy la sangre mis padres Y por eso soy débil y fuerte Y callada con mal genio