she had no choice but to sell her body to provide for her family without an education, she had to use her beauty as currency it was her only way out of the curse of poverty she was born in, out the adobe house she grew up in so she put on her loudest and reddest lipstick slid on her garter belt and fishnet stockings over her slender thighs along with the most revealing and tightest dress she could find and stood at the corner with a plastered smile on her face, poised like a doll for the taking the only english she knew was βme love you long timeβ
4 decades later her sons would make amends and forgive her even if a couple of them didnβt know who their fathers were even though this started a generational curse carried on unintentionally she just wanted to know what it was like to not struggle to have enough food in her belly to be able to wear more than two outfits in a year it was her pipe dream she wanted to make into reality
a moment of serendipity happened when we ran into each other Christmas shopping You struck up a conversation and helped me with my bags and I told you about my plans for higher education and you said you wanted to help me and got my phone number we didnβt know at the time, one day weβd form a family get married and divorced within a span of twenty years isnβt life, so, so crazy? How ten minutes of conversation ended up leading to the beginning of one of my most important stories?
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 try my best to try to trust the divine time of the universe but on days like today I just want to disappear under the covers of my bed itβs not that Iβm depressed I just need time to myself and not be surrounded by everyoneβs bullshit about capitalism, societyβs ills, and how we all need to heal- it all feels so repetitive like weβre all barely treading water waking up with existential dread wondering which catastrophe or tragedy comes next itβs hard for someone as sensitive as me to keep functioning to keep living under stress and duress of life and the worldβs toxicity so on days like today I just want to disappear under the covers of my bed
to see my american dream I just need to step into my backyard and look at my holy trinity who call me mom theyβre the ones I try to better myself for theyβre the one who make my immigrant existence worth living for theyβre my american dream wrapped up in burps, dark humor and love
envuelta en un ciclo de nostalgia cartas y fotos viejas y mΓΊsica de los 90 tratando de acordarme de quien fui Antes de me convertirme la madre de alguien
I wanted you but God wanted you more Perhaps you were an angel not meant for earth Perhaps you were a hard a lesson in grief and loss That I needed to learn A lesson that I should never take love and hope for grant No matter how brief the stay is A lesson that your heart can break within a span of a few minutes A lesson in surviving what you think is unsurvivable
sueΓ±os olvidados vienen a mi mente mientras sufro de un episodio depresivo querΓa ser mucho mΓ‘s que esto una madre abrumadora tratando de dar lo mejor de ella pero todavΓa fracasando
forgotten dreams remembered in a bout of depression I wanted to be much more than this an overwhelmed mom of two trying her best but still failing an chaotic mess who doesnβt know who she is underneath the burdens and expectations placed on her
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
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?
I have a bad habit of making poetry out of almost anything itβs annoying, itβs cringe, and downright embarrassing at times how shameless I can be it teethers between the line of genius and insanity This monster of creativity of mine from trauma to my kids to childhood memories To the latest villain in my story to office supplies To my dreams to the trees to the clouds To my kroger apron to energy drinks To that ex from my 20s No one and nothing is saved from being used as a fountain of inspiration for my creativity Sometimes itβs a curse, sometimes itβs a blessing Most of the time, itβs just downright entertaining