I wrote this in 2007 when I transferred to a 4 year University. It was a rough experience.
me with my friends in 2007
I feel small in this enormous and elitist world it doesnβt seem like I will ever fit It only seems like a perfect fit for my younger, blonder, whiter, and younger counterparts Older, hispanic, and poor is not acceptable here. Should I even try ? When Iβm destined for failure on this institutionβs steps Failure on the steps is what I feel here- a place where my browner, poorer self feels like an outcast, an undesirable- by the eyes of prejudice
I wrote this poem in December of 2016 after my almost love affair with death on December 5th. It’s strange how aside from my journal entries from that month, I hardly remember that month. I just remember feeling so broken inside and like a failure after that happened that it was so hard to get up every morning. I do know that writing saved me during that time because I started journaling way more consistently. I would learn years later after being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder that up to 10 percent of people with BPD die by suicide. Five years later, I’m glad that I had people by my side that prevented me from becoming one in ten. I’m glad that afterwards, I was able to slowly come back from thiseven if I was mostly depressed the year after and it was a fight to get up every single day.
For more information about the high risk of BPD and Suicide, here is a link from Psychology Today with info about it:
I wrote this in 2004 and revised it recently. It’s not based on anything from real life.
hard truth
Theyβre driving back from the theater. All evening heβs been quiet and she wonders what is going on. She reaches for his hand but he wonβt give it to her. She tries to look into his eyes and he looks away.She can feel him cold and distant. She no longer recognizes what is supposed to be βthemβ. With tears in her eyes, she says, βTell me whatβs wrong.β
βNothing.β he says as heβs still evading her eyes.
βDo you still love me?β she asks with a quivering voice.
βIβm sorry.Iβm in love with someone else. Itβs nothing you did. These things happen, I hope–
βSTOP!β she yells. Sheβs barely holding it together at this point.
βIβm really sorry, I just want to-β
βSTOP! Iβm done with this. Stop the car.β she screams at him.
βYouβre being crazy, at least let me-β
βNO. I want nothing from you! Stop the car NOW!β
βYou need to calm — he stops mid sentence as he sees her taking off her seat belt and unlocking the door. He stops the car. He says, βI just want–β
βFuck what you wantβ she says as she gets out of the car.
βBut I-β
βThere is nothing left to sayβ. She tells him. She walks away while she cries and laughs.She whispers to herself βfuck.once againβ.
I wrote this in 2007 about my husband. I was frustrated that he was always so guarded with his emotions and his past. I hated that I could give him my vulnerability and he couldn’t give me his. Looking back now, I should have realized how incompatible we were at the time, but my stubborn and optimistic self wanted things to badly work.
I wrote this in 2003 about Damon who I was seeing again.
Your strange ways confuse me One moment you hold me in your arms The next moment you want someone else in your arms Do you want to break our amorous ties? Was the love you professed another one of your lies?