Your butterfly kisses trace the small of my back and as I lose control with fiery desire you take me in your arms and drown me in your love until I scream and then mark me with you lips to let the whole world know about your passion for me
Stepping out of my chrysalis I stare with awe at everything I see a world in color and no longer in black and white I feel a true sense of freedom and no longer restrained by societyβs expectations of who I’m expected to be and I am finally free to be who I was always meant to be
if these two can find love then maybe just maybe I can as well
the sound of my love will not come with βI love yousβ or cute little texts with heart emojis the sound of my love comes in loud waves of poetry in the playlists I make dominated by Taylor Swift and Conan Gray the sound of my love is a lightning bolt that will not be ignored itβs me telling the audience I hate being vulnerable but I cannot quell the romantic girl in me when she feels something and then reading a love poem she wrote
home is the here and now- Enjoying the peace and tranquility of this moment no drama, no conflicts just a busy life filled with love, creativity, and routine home is the presence of my inner calm finally achieved home is me
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
Lately I feel too big for my current pot I need somewhere else to bloom this is too comfortable too stagnated itβs almost suffocating I need another place full of challenges and opportunities I need a place where I can full fill the extent of my potential
soon weβll be back to business as usual obsessing over taylor and travis clicking on clickbait about ben and jen finding another celebrity to cancel over some politically incorrect crime of their past soon weβll go back to business to usual as mothers still mourn their children over another violent tragery that never should have happened soon weβll go back to business as usual as my son and his friends are hypervigilant over anything suspicious at 13, this world has taken away their innocence soon weβll go back to business as usual as we go back to our stupid jobs whether thatβs a 9 to 5 office setting or back breaking labor as if evil didnβt happen at our communityβs door soon weβll go back to business as usual and Iβll write another poem about unrequited love or the ex I dreamt about last night soon weβll go back to business as usual except this time Iβll carry a when and where in back of my mind waiting for it to happen again
my guardian angel sighs in exasperation and frustration sheβs tired of my self destructive behavior sheβs tired of being hyper vigilant as I tear my life into shambles and now she sees itβs too late there was nothing she couldβve done to stop me from giving into attraction and chemistry and she wonders how this story will turn out
I never did get my happily ever after but I did get my happily divorced after and a year after it was all done and signed by the judge I feel gratitude for solitude and breathe a sigh of relief that I wonβt settle ever again for fear of being lonely never again will I ever allow Societal pressure to write my lifeβs Narrative and never again will I stay somewhere Past the expiration date because of fear or for the sake of appearances I never did get my happily ever but I did get my happily divorced after and life feels joyous and glorious and I am the most empowered version of myself
the ceilings of America are laced with poison ivy every time I act out of the norm or forget to code switch people tell me Iβm too dramatic -ouch- accused of being toxic and crazy-damn and a rash of doubt takes over my mind Iβll never fit it, no one will ever love or accept me and I turn down who I am but even that doesnβt work it makes things worse and I explode and project- fuck you, youβre blocked then I discover therapy -slowly I heal accept the pieces of myself that will never fit in exhibit myself in my most authentic form and slowly the poison ivy becomes an ivy of love and growth and I understand that to be happy I need let go of normalcy and embrace my unconventional and eccentric self
I tell my son Iβm proud of you and heβs like why, because Iβm alive I nervously laugh even though my heart aches over what he said Why does America like to play Russian roulette with its children Why canβt I have a normal conversation with my kid over too much screen time and reminding him to brush his teeth instead of conversation over what he should do in a mass shooting
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
me in September of 2022 before boarding a plane to Lima
my mother tells me to dress modestly no loud lipstick, short skirts,tight or revealing clothing I represent my family and currency in my country is prestige and social status- so I need to dress like the hija del ingeniero- it’s the remnants my parents hold on to from their former lives so Iβll put on my mask of seΓ±ora de la sociedad pretend I care about trivial things mask my true identity of being a socialist, a feminist, and a crazy bitch Itβs the least I can do for the people who sacrificed themselves for a better life for me
this time it hits too close to home this time it feels like a matter of when in America my children learn run, duck, and cover before learning to spell the word βGunβ but this is the deck of cards dealt to all of parents living in America safety in schools is an illusion long gone since the days of Columbine but with each massacre we all break a little more and our anxiety skyrockets even more the closer this epidemic gets to us this time Iβll hug my teenager as tightly as possible when he gets home, even as he rolls his eyes at me and says, βewβthis time I allow my fury and rage at this continued senseless violence to pour out of me and on paper collective and personal grief covers me accepting once again, no matter what I do or how hard I try or how much I love my child I canβt shelter him, I canβt protect him from the epidemic of violence in this country
this prodigal daughter got accidental bangs in Lima
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