this poem is inspired by the 2007 “veins”:

scared and desperate, I cling onto you
I learned early, solitude is a curse
and being alone is the worst thing
that can happen to a woman
I wrote this poem in March of 2024.

my morality goes out the window when the madness appears
itβs always a combo of impulsivity and hypersexuality
longing for connection, longing for intimacy
Longing to feel something
other than the emptiness that lies within
Itβs a temporary fix as I run away from
my self made prison of stability
this poem is inspired by the 2007 poem “fence”

for a while you were an a puzzle to me
always so mysterious
always so guarded
never talked about your past
even as I overshared my trauma
and while it got tiring
I still kept on trying to get you to open up
my mami didnβt raise a quitter
but nothing I did ever worked
you could never bring yourself
to be vulnerable
I wrote this poem in March of 2024.

I pay tribute to the women who came before me
women who sacrificed so my parents could exist
my mami who had to leave behind her culture,
traditions, and language to give me a better life
to make sure I grow up safe and well educated
and taught me what strength and resilience means
as she worked long days to make ends meet
as she showed initiative to move our family forward
and with her example I was able to follow it
except I change it up some
to live a life full of love, community and creativity
I wrote this poem in March of 2024.

always restless and wild from the start
nothing could contain me or dim my spark
leg braces, overprotective parents
it didnβt matter
I always found a way to make trouble,
to investigate,
always too curious for my own good
and too dramatic and emotional
for mostly everyone
always good at making people
uncomfortable
sometimes itβs a curse,
sometimes itβs a blessing
canβt change this part of myself
I have, am and will always
be like this
I wrote this poem in March of 2024.

at 17, the pregnant bride to be got a telegram from her groom
sorry, but Iβm betrothed to another and am getting married
at gun point
maybe it was the heavy feeling of rage or her aries nature
and hormones
the jilted bride with a silent fury went to her closet
and took out her ostentatiously beaded wedding dress
and with matches in her hand
she went outside and set fire to it in front of the family home
one of the younger siblings saw the insanity as the bride
stared at it mesmerized by fire that grew and grew
she walked towards it
all sense of reality gone from her
not hearing the screams from her abuela who ran towards her
and just before the bride step foot in the fire
la abuela shook her and slapped her across the face
until the bride reacted, let out a loud wail heard
across the farmland and fainted
I wrote this poem in February of 2024.

I scream watching the dominoes fall once again
I donβt know who I am
I want to be this version of myself a while longer
ideally forever
but the universe has other plans
she laughs and says
βHoney, he wasnβt the oneβ
and Iβm pissed and lose my shit
go crazy for weeks, that turn into months
that turn into a year
until 13 months later
mama killa comes to me revealing
the last piece I needed to form a stable identity
and sends me back to my homeland
where I recover hidden bits of myself
and laugh like a child once again
where Iβm reunited with the mountains,
coast, and the city
where the universe tells me
βI told you so, you couldnβt have done this
with him by your side dimming your light,
you needed to be alone to embrace your magic
And find your real identity under layers
of american conditioning
and reconnect with your homeland,
it was the most important part
in your heroineβs journey to integration
Here’s a link to the original 2006 poem that inspired this poem:

the sky fell on me on that tuesday morning
when you ended me with a 5 minute phone call
for weeks I cried on the carpet
until I fell asleep
for weeks I wanted to fade away
into an abyss of nothingness
and even though itβs been almost decade
I still think about that Tuesday morning
the morning I lost the small piece
of innocence I had left
I wrote this poem in February of 2024.

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
this poem was inspired by the 2006 poem, “the horsefly stood on her shrug”.

blankness spills across her pretty face
no distinction between her and the marble
her hands and feet are still
watches herself say the right words
and make the appropriate gestures
nothing makes sense in this moment
rage burns inside of her
she smiles and nods politely
as they talk about the weather

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
I wrote this poem in May of 2024.

Universe, send me a silver lining
send me a sign, send me a message
things will be alright
lately everything feels so awry
lately May feels like the longest month of my life
lately everything feels like chaos and darkness
I canβt seem to get rid off
And lately Iβm afraid Iβm about to lose my mind
I wrote this poem in February of 2024.

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
I wrote this poem in December of 2023.

the future of me is not written yet
I have to understand that
all I can do is write for her
who will still question her existence
or why things happened the way they did
or what the fuck happened to her
I know myself too well
it doesnβt matter how far Iβm in my self discovery journey
Iβll always have questions
Its my insatiable curiosity
I can only hope that the future me has leaned into self love
More than ever before and still understands
she and her kids are her top priorities
Anyone else is expendable in her little universe of love
I wrote this poem in December of 2023.

I swipe and swipe on anyone who looks appetizing,
on anyone who looks interesting
and then the messages swarm in-
I must be honey to the bees who buzz and buzz around me
and Iβm not impressed
Hey, beautiful says the guy with his catch of day
in his profile pic –
Are you DTF? Says the zoomer almost young enough
to be my son-ew-blocked
insert a pretentious line with a quote
From a Wallace Stevens poem , it’s the Genxer
whoβs gross-ethically non monogamous-
I must not have been paying attention
while I was swiping
And the messages keep coming
And Iβm overwhelmed by the amount of them
and underwhelmed by quality of them
and Iβm nauseated and want to vomit
at the thought of giving any of these men
an ounce of my energy
maybe a past version of me
would have given them a chance
but this new and empowered version of me
Nah, none of them seem worthy
so I deactivate my profile
and uninstall the app
Understand Iβm too evolved to find love online
and put my trust in the universe that one day
The right guy will find me
and I wonβt even have to try
and until that time comes,
Iβll keep being an independent Peruvian Queen
Focusing on myself and my kids
without any mediocre energy
trying to intervene