text message from me to the person who inspired this poem
Maybe I was captious in thinking you wanted sex but you were really depressed and needed help I was moody and tired and couldnβt be bothered so I turned off my phone and wanted to be alone I thought it was no big deal to not get back on our idiot ferris wheel and now I hope itβs not too late and prioritizing myself wasnβt a mistake because I couldnβt stand the thought of you harming yourself be my fault
weβre procrastinating our end not wanting to face the consequences of our doomed relationship so we keep wasting our time pretending weβre fine putting a bandaid of sex on our petty conflicts and keep using each other as blankets for our loneliness instead of being grown ups and admit how our love is no longer worth any effort
it was important for me to learn emotion regulation skills this year
My sense of urgency was lost When I finally felt like enough I no longer had a rush To jump to the next crush I no longer had a need to have a lover next to me I no longer wanted to be love addicted I finally learned To me I needed to return I finally had a new outlook And I started a new storybook I finally understood Itβs okay to live my truth And now my sense of urgency rarely appears After so many tears and months of therapy
is it the devil who takes over me and makes me crazy? Or is it God punishing me for past mistakes or maybe it isnβt either And I really have fucked up genetics
trato de escaparme de ti pero tu me sigues dondequiera que vaya tu olor, tu voz, tus besos me persiguen en mis sueΓ±os y aunque yo trato y trato de vivir sin pensar en ti siempre me encuentro en la jaula que es el recuerdo de tu amor
I fell into the trap of βacceptanceβ not understanding I was slowly losing parts of myself for the sake of fitting in, for the sake of other people who loved to judge me accept that youβre too fat to wear that bikini accept that youβre too old to chase your dreams accept that youβre too hard to love it took me too long to figure out the acceptance of others was costing me my sanity and my self worth and I said, βfuck your opinions on who I should beβ from now on, Iβll wear whatever I want, Iβll chase my dreams, and Iβll always be worthy of loveβ
ya no te- no soy tuya para- trato de encontrar las palabras adecuadas para decirte que nuestro cuento de amor a cabo pero cada vez que trato todo se siente insuficiente y la culpabilidad me cubre y no me atrevo a herirte
slaying every day with my hard work ethic and my paper and pen
What is the last thing you learned?
Learning to uncensor myself was a hard process I always walked on eggshells for the comfort of others Said yes when I wanted to say no Toned myself down for fear of being too much Accommodated constantly to keep the peace Cut off pieces of myself to make myself digestible But I got too old and tired of hiding who I really am of continuing to pretend to be something Iβm not or never will be so I chose to stop hiding the real me whoβs loud and dramatic whoβs crazy and creative whoβs moody and depressed who βs a beautiful and majestic Incan Queen
picture of how it feels of when I’m asked “what’s your bra size?”
What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
I hate it when men ask me, βwhatβs your bra size?β itβs like my bust-line invites unwanted and sexist questions and comments about my body and it makes me want to throw up and write about them violently because out of all of the questions in the world to ask ME, a mother, a public health worker, a grocery store clerk, an immigrant, a Peruvian, an American, a friend, a poet, a blogger, a woman, a PERSON- they choose to ask me an awkward question about my body- I used to entertain them and tell them while laughing uncomfortably holding in my disgust and anger for them but now I either ignore them, call them out, or block them my boobs or any part of my body are no longer up for the objectification of others
Lately i reach out to God and the stars to comfort me and reassure me Lately i embrace the universe and the sun for faith and warmth Lately I look in the mirror for the definition of strength and resilience Lately I write my love story filled with the wonders and horrors of love
I wrote this poem in December of 2021. I was kind of angry. Lol.
performing this poem at open mic in October of 2022
Letβs hashtag the fuck out of our imperfect perfect lives smile for the camera but make it look candid this is for instagram after all- we want to present an image of authenticity Authentic needs to look put together and balanced there can be no cracks in our suburban realities no one wants to see tears and frowns letβs continue to act like modern clowns except our lipsticks presents a false smile that hides our misery inside and letβs add a witty caption that spells out live,laugh, love and hashtags about #momlife,#gratitude, and #bestlifeever depression, sadness, and anger has no room in our modern world where we pretend to be perfectly imperfect moms and wives with these amazing and perfect lives letβs continue the facade of authenticity even as we burn inside and want to die we are not just okay but we are fucking fabulous so honey continue to smile for that selfie even as the expectations of modern womanhood continues to burn us all up
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
I used to think I was the poster girl for failure I’m a failure at love, I’m a failure at life, Iβm a failure at everything but all of these are thoughts of a past version of me the version of me who saw herself as a victim the version of me who took comfort in her misery in my middle age I changed that narrative I no longer see myself as a failure I see myself as a person who makes mistakes whoβs deeply flawed, who has caused pain itβs doesnβt make me a loser or a disaster It makes me a human whoβs trying her best to live her life and sometimes that doesnβt always look pretty I now see failure as stepping stone,a learning curve to continue to grow, to continue to evolve to become better and healthier than Iβve been before