
Poem of the Day: A Sign


I wrote this in 2004 about my husband who I thought was being distant at the time. As you can guess, I don’t deal with rejection well at all and this is one example of many of how my mind deals with it.

Your frigid ways turn me into nothing
I donβt ask for much
but to you I ask for the world
I try so hard to make something
Out of the nothing
That has become usβ¦
But all of it is meaningless to you

From the ages of 18 to 23, I worked for a government agency as an interpreter. I was well-liked by many of my coworkers and my first supervisor was appreciative of me. I was very good at my job and even cross-trained in many other areas that didn’t “pertain to my job”. However, at that job, I was also bullied and discriminated against for being Latina. I was also slut-shamed by my second supervisor and coworkers the latter 2 years I was there. I don’t want to say I deserved being slut-shamed but I’ll just say that I trusted the wrong coworkers with my private life and they went on to gossip about me to everyone. It was also a very stressful environment because of the work I did and clients I had to interact with. My depression and anxiety went haywire. In 2003, I decided to enroll in my local community college and major in English. In 2004, I was trying to go to school full time, work full time, and deal with my child’s new autism diagnosis. I was breaking down mentally and something had to give so I quit this job. I was fucking done. And this poem was inspired by that moment. I thought I had processed this trauma until it came back up in therapy in the summer of 2021. I didn’t realize it at the time but I had suffered a deep racial trauma that impacted me and still triggered reactions in me. I was angry. There is actually way more to this story and one day I’ll share it when I’m ready.

This was the hardest thing I did
but it had to be done
I couldnβt stand the gossip
or the two faces of everyone
the way they pretended to be my friend
but the minute I turned my back to them
they talked like I was the biggest wench
so much envy and hate
I HAVE TO ESCAPE
FROM THIS MISERABLE FATE!
so today I resigned
I didnβt tell them why
all I know is that for the first time
in a really long time
I feel something like happy
so long to the only place I have known
for an almost five year term
for once I breathe a sigh of relief
I finally had the courage to leave
so long to the hypocrisy of this place
to let myself stay here for another day
would only be a fucking waste

I wrote this in 2004 inspired by a rough family situation I was going through at the time. I needed to process what was happening in some way because I couldn’t confront the person. And well, I wrote this narrative poem.

Poor and destitute
in front of me she stood
asking for shelter and food
with tears streaming down her cheek
she kept on repeating
βlet me stay with you tonight,
I promise, one day Iβll make things rightβ
I didnβt know what to do
for a while I just stood
trying to decide
if what I was about to do was right
so with pain in my heart
I had to say
βplease go awayβ
she tried to resist
by giving me a guilt trip
and I told her once again
βplease go awayβ
she still wouldnβt listen
and made me listen to her reasons
this time I lost control
and yelled at her to
βPLEASE GO AWAY
IF YOU DONβT WANT ME
TO GO CRAZYβ
this time she listened to me
maybe she does care for me
it hurt to turn her away
but I couldnβt be swayed
to feel sorry for her
and allow her
to ruin my world
so in the end
this was the dreadful when
I would have to decide
between saving her or me

I wrote this in March of 2004 when I was feeling nostalgic about Lucas.

So many things left unsaid
the day you decided to get away
So much left undone
Because I was no longer fun
So many tears I had cried
Asking myself a thousand whys?
Why did you leave?
I thought we were a perfect fit.
What was wrong with us?
That made you leave in a rush
Why did you break my heart?
by pulling us apart
And why didnβt you love me so?
Itβs excruciating to let you go
I wrote this in February of 2004 when I was feeling nostalgic about Lucas.

I sit here at what once was our βspotβ
and contemplate our last conversation
And I think over and over again how that last phrase got to
βMe and my wife had a long talk-and we decided to work things outβ
I know I should have been happy but I was sad
I know I shouldβve smiled but instead I cried
Of course I hid this very well from you
And the few words I could muster up was
βWell thatβs good, Iβm happy for youβ
And I wonder why when I shouldβve been happy for you, my friend
But I was sad for me
I sit down and wonder why
I always end up with the same lost guy
Who doesnβt know what he wants and hurts me tons
Who uses me just as an escape
to get away from his mate
Who never wants to tell me I love you
and thinks of me as anything but the one
who never cares after our tragic love affair fails

I wrote this in February of 2004 after my car accident after I was feeling lost and deep sense of despair and worthlessness. It was a trauma that would affect me for many years to come. I’ll tell the story of the accident one day when I’m ready to.

Last week I was where I needed to be
Today I am lost again with no sense of who I am
Or where I want to go
They tell me Iβm a mother, daughter, coworker,
Student, sister, and girlfriend
But I donβt seem be right fit into any of those roles
So can somebody instruct me
on how to get to where I once was
Or more importantly on how to be happy just to be me


I wrote this shortly in February of 2004 shortly after my car accident. I was feeling so much depression and anxiety because of it.

I feel so lost
without sense of direction
So many feelings of frustration
over my lifeβs woes
Feelings of rejection
by the ones who once loved me
Feelings of anger
for never doing anything right
Where can I find the shining light
that I desperately seek?
Escribi este poema en Marzo de 2003 cuando estuve visitando Hawaii y pensaba en mi pasado.

Estoy en el mismo lugar
donde era una adolecente inmadura,
Impulsiva, e insegura
pero ahora soy otra
Una que piensa antes de arriesgar
una que mirar antes de pisar
Una que trata de olvidar
Antes de contemplar todo
lo que no fue de su vida