Insistent

Content warning: This poem contains graphic sexual imagery.

Sculpted Lightning

or, The Beautiful Sameness of Normalcy

Original photograph by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos via Wikipedia, “Lightning”

Not like vinegar touches the tongue
or the futile efforts to mow down cement
make the sidewalk bloom with daffodils and daisies
let the summer unfold in whispers and sideways glances
let the heat undulate above the asphalt
paths that lead us to park benches draped in shade
and supernovas launched from baseball fields

Freedom of Expression

So I arrive to have my test proctored and I get to the desk in the back of the library where there’s this plump black woman with braided hair in a bun and a bright smile on her face. When she pulls out my test and looks through the paperwork, her eyes light up and she says, “You’re taking Spanish?” “Yes,” I answer (but maybe I should’ve said “sí”), and she spews off a mouthful in español. I flash a nervous grin and admit, “I’m not quite there yet, but maybe if you talk slowly.” I chuckle, and changing the subject she asks, “What do you plan to do with Spanish?” Here I’m faced with a dilemma: honesty or ease? She seems friendly enough, so I opt for honesty, saying, “My boyfriend’s from Spain.” She gets this funny look on her face as she stands up, pointing to the other side of the room. “See that man sitting over there? His boyfriend’s from the same place as my husband, El Salvador. Seems to me like you guys are steeling up our foreign men.”

And what else can I do but laugh and say I agree?

Victorious

I want to feel victorious.
I want to say I faced a dragon
and I slayed it
say I saw the beast
and betrayed it

More Than a Moment

It’s not that I don’t want to get married
it’s simply the fact that I can’t
but what would it matter even if I did
when I know how they all end anyways
Well I guess they don’t all end
but you know what I mean when I say
that most of them do go anyways.