I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

Could I be so lucky to ever become the muse
of one of your poems or songs?
or am I too ordinary to be inspiring enough
to be written about
I wrote this poem in July of 2020.

The Darkness comes back
with a fierce strength
and takes over my mind
I want to run
I want to hide
But most of all I want to die
The Darkness comes back
like a hurricane
and wrecks my body and mind
and I donβt want to work
and I donβt want to talk
and I donβt want to breathe
The Darkness comes back
and not even the promise of love
keeps it away
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

I collect crushes like little boys collect pokemon cards
Iβm addicted to the potential of love
without doing anything about it
except to occasionally test their waters
Nonchalantly sliding into their DMs
And posting a thirst trap selfie
and celebrating with a love song
when one of them likes it
or comments on it
hoping one of them sees past my salty poetry
hoping one of them is brave enough
to ask me out for coffee
and wants to get to know the real me
I wrote this poem in July of 2020.

Chaotic and destructive thoughts
enter my mind
I want to die and feel the blood drain
from my body
I want to fuck
and feel pleasure
with a complete stranger
I want to yell at everyone
that makes me feel worthless
I want to sing all of the sad and depressing songs
of unrequited loves –
But most of all-
I want the dangerous nonsense in my head
to STOP!
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

I hold my head up high now
no matter what happens
I will never allow anyone
to ever again dim or extinguish my light
I now understand the magic I hold within
and how it can be intimidating
to some people who canβt understand it
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

The romantic in me riots and protests and says
this solitary confinement is bullshit
Itβs been over a year since weβve been intimate
with anyone
or felt a romantic connection
and I try to reason with her
βWeβre still healing
and we like to stay emotionally regulated
and healthyβ
and she yells, βno itβs time to take all
of our therapy skills out for test drive
and find someone we vibe withβ
And I answer, βbut weβre notβ
And she screams, βstop with your excuses
go find the next muse of our poetry”
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

I gave the middle finger to love for a few reasons
I like to stay emotionally regulated
I like to not be on the brink of suicidal ideation
Every other week
I needed to find out who I was
without anyone distracting me
And for once in my life
I needed to make myself a priority
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

I donβt recognize the woman I was two years ago
and Iβm most grateful for that
always dependant and clingy
always insecure, always settling for the trifles of attention
given to her by men
and never confident to share who she really was
always suffocating her needs and wants for the benefit of others
the woman I was two years ago didnβt know
the magical and powerful creature she was
and how even despite her issues
she was a heroine in the making
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

she thinks she should be thanked for flexing her confidence
clothed in privilege and luxury by posting advice to women
about how dining alone in a fancy restaurant is womenβs empowerment
and I have an adverse reaction that makes me want to vomit
it feels like a modern day Marie Antoniette moment
perhaps itβs because Iβm a working class immigrant woman
who struggles in America
perhaps itβs because the rights of the marginalized and working class
are being ripped away from us
and on my social media feed, this yuppie and elitist bullshit appears
how can I be friends with this bleached blonde Barbie
oh yeah, we worked together briefly
and I almost start to comment with an essay on how she should
check her privilege before handing out tokens of toxic positivity
while people like me are drowning in debt and lack financial stability
but I stop
this barbie isnβt worth my time or energy
itβs time to unfriend and unfollow the marie antoinette wannabe
who only serves to trigger my working class rage
who serves to remind of the injustice and inequality
in this capitalistic and racist American society
I wrote this poem in July of 2023.

I want to be dripping in velvet and have the problems of the rich
like finding a new pool man
because the last one got sick of my condescending and pompous ways
or cry because Iβm bored and canβt figure out how to fill up my day
in a way that keeps me entertained
but instead Iβm stuck in my working class cursed life
where my joints and bones ache in chronic pain
from constantly over working
where Iβm constantly fighting to make ends meet
without losing my sanity
And constantly questioning my existence because of my suffering
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

As I let go of my self limiting beliefs,
I grieve the woman I used to be
so insecure and unsure of herself
so hesitant to take control and power
Overthinking and catastrophizing constantly
it held me back from living the life of my dreams-
Jealousy and envy filled me up
Scrolling the professional and personal successes
of others on social media
Thinking, βthat could have been meβ
and giving too much importance to the opinions of others
wondering constantly-
βare they judging me?β
It was a toxic story I told myself since the age of 16
and it continued on and on until one day in my middle age
I exploded and decided to fight my inner critic
and challenge everything I thought was wrong with me
slowly, I learned to turn my story around
Slowly, I went from victim to heroine
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

my fingers tingle and almost grew numb
as I gripped the wire
and the tightrope shook
I wanted to give up
it would have been so easy
but something in me didnβt allow me to
terrified I took the slowest step forward
radically accepting in that moment
I will never be a quitter
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

Iβm a poet, Iβm a writer but when it comes to expressing the romantic in me
I have the hardest time
Iβm great at expressing my anger, my disappointment, my shame
but when it comes to love, I shy away and put my guard up
itβs a mix of trauma and cognitive distortions Iβve held within me
since the age of 16
self limiting beliefs that no man has ever loved or respected me
and failing at all of my love stories no matter
how hard I tried to succeed, no matter how much I accommodated
or changed for my partner, he leaves me
and Iβm left flabbergasted, devastated, traumatized
so embedded and attached to my past tragedies
Iβm apprehensive and hesitant when it comes to trying on someone new.
when to comes to pursuing anything more than friendship
it leaves me in the land of βI donβt know how to fucking do this again
without it breaking meβ
and so I sit still, waiting for my crush to say something, do something
to restart my heart once again
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

youβre my small town Iβve outgrown but am afraid to leave
no one seems to understand this
theyβre concerned youβre holding me back
theyβre concerned staying with you stiffens my dreams
and while I know they want whatβs best for me
and I agree with most of what they say
How do I explain to them, itβs more complicated
than Iβve made it out to be
while you are hard to live with
life without you feels almost empty
and while itβs the right thing to do to end our marriage
so we can move forward as a family
itβs still hard to imagine a beginning without you