Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?


Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?


I wrote this poem in November of 2019.

Loving you is like being in a fog
of continued self destruction
It destroys my inner being
It destroys my soul
And yet I continually do this
to myself
Love someone
that continues to discard me
Over and over and over and over
again
Love someone
who doesnβt even love himself
Waiting for the fog
to clear is the worst part
Because my heart doesnβt know
how to listen to my head
my heart continually refuses
to let go of my self destruction
that is being devoted to you
But I must, I have to, I need to
allow the fog to clear
To make room in my heart and mind
for someone that truly wants to love me
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

I come from a line of women who were never afforded
the privilege of telling their stories and speaking out their truths
they simply accommodated and according to the expectations
from their parents and husbands
they had no choice but to shut up, obey, breed, and stay
like docile animals whose spirits are beaten out of them
and with each poem, each blog post, each social media post
I feel a part of them heal because I will be the last in my lineage
to have followed suit and the first one to break out of the toxic narrative
where women should only be seen and not heard
where women should be limited by their gender
where women are only good for one thing
Iβm the red herring, the hair out of place,
la malcriada-
whoβll scream as much and as loud as I have to
to tell mine and their stories
even as my family cringes
and accuses me of being dramatic and crazy
because to not do so would be a disservice to them,
to me, and to future generations
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

honest nonsense is spilled across my blog
honoring who I have been, am, and will be
a former chaotic mess whoβs tried her best
to turn her victim story into a narrative
of empowerment owning everything
thatβs happened to me,
not caring what anyone else thinks-
if some people are offended,
they should have acted better
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

Iβm not for the tender and meek
and because of that I might end up
lonely for the rest of my life
and before, it used to bother me
but lately I donβt care
Iβd rather be alone facing the world
and my fears without anyone
whoβll judge me or give me
his unsolicited opinion on my life
I finally hold the reins of my autonomy
and Iβm not giving that up for anybody
I wrote this poem in October of 2021.

Bleak and rainy days
used to make me sad
and squeeze the life out of me
But now
I think of all the
sunshines and rainbows
in my life
three souls I gave birth to
the friends who accept me
my parents who continue
to be loving and nurturing
my coworkers whom Iβve
Shared a pandemic war with
But mostly, the new version
of myself who might feel
despair and sadness on some
days but keeps going
This new version
that loves herself fully
for once is enough
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

if we start this again
Boundaries need to be put in place
respect me and we can make this work
letβs keep it casual and leave our feelings
out of it
Iβm not looking for anything serious
every time Iβve tried long term love
Iβve crashed and burned
so letβs give this a go
with purely sexual energy
there is no space, energy or time
for anything else
letβs keep things easy and light
devour me, fuck me like a whore
take charge in the bedroom
but not anywhere else
I finally belong to myself
and Iβm not changing that
anytime soon
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

this time Iβll give myself permission
to let my body explore pleasure
with someone else
telling myself,
βThis time Iβm keeping it casual,
itβs nothing serious, itβs not a big dealβ
Iβm just ready to once again
share my sexual magic
write erotic poems about a human
and not my vibrator
itβs time to break my vow of celibacy
and let someone in on my sexual energy
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

a pledge of allegiance full of lies
brainwashes us with promises
that will go unfulfilled
the rest of our lives
the pursuit of happiness
doesnβt exist in this country
that treats its marginalized communities
as subhuman
we can say God Bless America until weβre blue in the face
it still doesnβt change a damn thing
about a country thatβs fucks over
its most vulnerable communities
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

Iβm starting to radically accept someone like me
will always be judged differently from my peers
it doesnβt matter how many degrees I have-
how much I code switch to fit in-
it will never be enough to be truly accepted
so Iβll smile and nod while they complain
about ivory tower problems
while I roll my eyes inside my mind-
man, I really wish I had your problems Susan
but I got to go to my second job now
I wrote this poem in October of 2022.

the river of my love for you dried and at first I cried
but then it felt like freedom, it felt like happiness
to no longer obsess over someone who treated me like shit
to feel nothing for someone who caused me a world of pain
over and over again
Does this mean I finally learned my worth?
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

I give you a yard, and you give me an inch-
itβs a game of back and forth nonsense
one where I respect your unspoken boundaries
and need for space
until one day the push back from you
pulled back into a dark place I havenβt been in a while
a place where my confidence breaks, a place where I start to question my worth
a place when my sense of self breaks once again
and I know right there, and then, itβs better to give up
whatever this was
Iβve outgrown men who send me mixed signals
I wrote this poem in October of 2022.

were we the bonnie and clyde of toxic relationships ?
you setting up and detonating love bombs in my heart
and making me explode in rage every time you left
and me encouraging you with every reunion
because I loved you, because I didnβt want to be alone
so I went along with your emotional crimes every time
Until one day, I learned my worth
and blocked your energy from my universe
I wrote this poem in June of 2023.

every time I drive somewhere new Iβm beyond terrified
doubts about driving skills cloud me and I want to break down
and panic in the middle of traffic
but I push through my fears, my insecurities, and keep driving
I canβt be weighed down by who I used to be
A woman reliant on the transportation of others
A woman fearful of living a full life
that is my old story
and itβs not that I hate that version of myself
I just refused to hold myself hostage by my past
which tries to hold me back from
being the independent woman I was always meant to be
I wrote this poem in October of 2023.

I was in distress the other night
but I wasnβt the damsel who needed to be saved
I was a friend who needed a friend
and maybe I was expecting too much
but you could have done better
than some two word awkward text
as I was breaking down in the diner