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
Triggered trauma brings in a spiral of toxic guilt and shame even if logically I know itβs not my fault and I was just standing up for myself Iβm still recovering from being a nice girl Iβm still recovering from saying please and thank you when toxicity was served on a platter of love Iβm still recovering from compromising my values and my true self for the comfort of others so theyβd stay Iβm still recovering from the most toxic story I ever told myself when it came to measuring my worth by how others judged and perceived me
itβs the wild wild west inside my head itβs where my demons decide to come out to play they dance with traumatic memories making my fears and insecurities come out to the surface itβs the wild wild west inside my head being insane becomes my personality and aesthetic scaring away any potential love candidates itβs been a long time since I held someoneβs hand much less been in someoneβs bed Itβs the wild wild went inside my head And I wonder when will the demons get tired and leave so maybe one day Iβm not so jaded so maybe one day I give someone the chance to take me out on a date
it was another boring night at work I was stuck on aisle 10 between stocking and my racing thoughts a 90s dance song comes on the speaker and just when Iβm about to sing I heard footsteps behind me I turned around and there he was- my favorite customer 5β10 ,curly black hair, full red lips and a body built by some Greek God he was looking at pots and pans I quickly turned my back to stock the tupperware and sneaked glances and admired him from afar hoped he didnβt notice me in my Kroger garb I looked like too much of hot mess to flirt but still my dead and jaded heart was resuscitated and my imagination took flight as fantasies of him surfaced to my mind and just as Iβm imagined our first kiss he approached me, -OH NO! of course he asked for a specific type of pan we didnβt have I told him no and apologized in my best customer service voice and he told me βno worriesβ as his voice cracked and walked away quickly and I wondered, am I imagining things, or is he also attracted to me?
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
In bridging the gaps of my story that have remained unresolved every story, every poem leads to pieces of healing and closure Iβve been desperately search for since I can remember Whatever my child self , my teenage self couldnβt voice back then My middle age self brings to the surface and while at times itβs difficult and terrifying itβs needed in the process of healing and evolving
take me on a tour of your utopia the one you always talk about the one where mental illness doesnβt exist and we all go to sleep without the need of meds and sleepytime tea the one where everyone is respected and being different is celebrated and not used as fodder for insults or war
you donate to endless non profits, sit on boards of organizations that want to bridge communities together, you volunteer at the soup kitchen or as a mentor for underprivileged at risk kids you share your stories of trauma and you do all of this telling yourself I want to help others I want to be a healing light this cesspool of a world desperately needs and despite dozens of explanations Iβll ask you are you doing it to help others or are you doing it to fuel your ego? are you doing out of the purest of intentions to make a difference or to make yourself feel better about your mediocre first world privilege existence?
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
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
How long do I have to scroll before the algorithm fucks me up Before the algorithm makes me feel like Iβm not doing enough before I lose my shit and say βthis is bullshitβ and delete all of my social media apps How long do I have to scroll before the algorithm makes me feel better before the algorithm starts to validate my existence Before some random stranger slides into my dms and tells me Iβm pretty
My body slowly starts to rebel against the daily stress I put on it It says, βstop this nonsense, youβre trying to do too much constantly. hardly stopping to catch your breath Constantly moving with a fast pace, tying up your worth with how productive you can be when just breathing, just existing is enoughβ
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