POETRY
While poetry is not something I pursue professionally, it is something that feeds my soul. From poetas like Julia de Burgos to modern day poets like Sarah Kay and Elizabeth Acevedo, I think there's a magical beauty in it.
Most of my poems are for me and will never see the light of day, but here's a few I don't feel terribly embarrassed about.
STILL
I remember the night
I wished to rip my skin
From my bones, from my veins
Clawing at it to bleed
To drain you out
To scrub me clean
To dig out all the
you in me
I remember the screams
The murderous shrill sound
Coming from my own mouth
As if to shout you out
I remember the days
That followed and the weeks
Of sitting still in darkness
Waiting for you to leave
I remember the void
You left behind to fill
I remember it all
I remember it still
-E
PLEA
Disrobe the core of your essence
Allow me to witness the sight
Of unseen, hidden places
Kept from the morning’s eyes
Guide me to a cavern’s womb
Lead me where your heart beats
Lift me up to the mountain tops
And plunge me into the sea
Sway me with gentle winds
Rattle my bones with thunder
Wake me up at your feet
Valleys where secrets wander
Wrap me in silk and silence
A cloak of velvet black sky
Dotted with distant starlight
Speckled in awe and fright
Dance with me under waterfalls
Whisk me across a stream
Where rivers rise and fall
And palms bend to the sea
Now let our steps be swift
And wondrous our sights
Enough to make time still
Her shifting hand tonight
-E
SECONDS AFTER
I am
A freshly broken heart
Not yet grieving
the aftermath
Stuck
Holding my breath
On the edge of a cliff
Frozen in step
Looking out
At a million paths
My feet planted
In quicksand
Swimming
In a sea of thoughts
Of the days ahead
And all the days past
Nowhere
And everywhere at once
Processing
As much as I can
Slowly
It all starts to sink in
Everything I knew
Is spiraling
-E
DESDE LEJOS
Con brisa de montañas
Y sonidos de ciudades
Con el coqui cantando
Sobre nubes, sobre mares
Con una identidad
Que corre por la sangre
Con piel de color sol
Con orgullo que arde
Con la melancolia
De millas de distancia
Con mil recuerdos gratos
De una preciosa infancia
Te llevo en el alma
Te veo en mi reflejo
Te amo a la distancia
Y es mi culpa, lo siento
El tiempo lejos de ti
Te ha convertido en concepto
En poco más que una idea
Linda postal, grato recuerdo
Con alma de turista
Admiro tu belleza
Y me regreso a casa
Sin procesar la escena
Que el tiempo te oscurece
Que miles te abandonan
Tus sueños toman vuelo
Y escapan a otra zona
Acaso piensas en mi
Paciente entre las olas
Esperando que vuelva
Con planes de victoria
Con historias de cielos
Que a ti no se comparan
Con promesas de amarte
Y cambiar el mañana
Que pobre idea ingenua
Que identidad confusa
Plantada en tierra ajena
Con raíces profundas
Valdrán la pena tus playas
Tus palmas y tus colores
La risa de tus hijas
Corriendo entre tus flores
Ver cuando el sol se esconde
Detrás de tus montañas
Escuchar el sonido
De tus bellas cascadas
Afirma mi alma que si
Que sera pronta mi llegada
Pero esto es solo un poema
Escrito en tierras lejanas
-E
THE QUIET ONE
The words she would have said
Became a pleasant smile
Remembering what mother said
Some things aren’t worth the while
And holding tight a war of words
Burning beneath her skin
She answered in a quiet nod
That seemingly agreed
-E