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a Oct 2023
Everything can change in one minute.
One night we're having dinner in the family home.
Next we move back in with abuela.
One second it's laughter joy gifts for the kids...
Next it's fear, tears, and time spent together.
They worked so hard to get here... to raise us.
I'm ashamed to say I am still confused. I don't want you to feel like I'm ungrateful.
I'm just confused. You raised me to think I can do anything if I take my time and figure it out.
I don't have time.
You just have to do.
Everything can change in one minute.
a Oct 2023
Floating in the air is the delicious smell of alcapurrias, pastelios, morcilla... home, laughter, long nights...
Echos of different radios playing Willie Colon, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, Bad Bunny, Karol G... which fiesta you tryna go to.
Viejitos sit together, reflect on how long its been, the neighborhood is changing..
playing dominoes by the trucks.
funny to hear them yelling over eachother,
a game of who's louder.
Pero never tell them "you're yelling!"  tho , por que "no mama THIS IS HOW I TALK".

You don't just walk down the streets. You dance. To the rhythm. Hips start to sway. Bachata takes over and you're dancing with 3 others. 1..2..3..hip 1..2..3.. hip 1…2…3… hip 1…2…3… hip
"MY PUERTO RICAN QUEEN. If you can dance infront of everyone you can anything in this world. Never stop dancing."
I love them. Feels safe here. It's home.
The machismo never phased me. It lifted me up.

Faded memories of climbing the rusted bleachers, always daring to catch up with the boys of the block. taking breaks to eat my cherry piragua. These Memories hold me warm as a knitted blanket. Carrying with me, never forgetting.

The closest thing to remembering you.
Laughter strikes cause it was so long ago. I was so young, yet I miss the opportunity I could've had. Wish we had a chance. MY viejo. My abuelo. The prettiest princess in the land. The real Cinderella. (Only a joke he would know)
a Jun 2023
If I could write myself a love letter,
what would I say?

What could I say—
to the woman who cries at the push of a button,
whose insecurities press in like hands around her throat,
whose mind spins at the slightest pressure,
the mere thought of others,
the weight of expectation.

The world fears her,
but she is the one who is frozen.
Scared.

Sometimes, she steps outside—
with tequila’s push.
It used to be whiskey.
I miss the whiskey days.
Wine is always.
Beer, most nights.

We even went crazy once,
chugged Malört for a week.
This woman?
This bold, wild, chaotic force—
Scared?

But the liquor helps.
It makes her feel normal.
It gives her something to blame.

Without it, she is lost,
searching for direction,
drowning in sounds she never needed to hear,
absorbing everything,
not knowing what sticks
and what slips away.

She is the wind,
brushing rooftops,
whispering through the trees.

She is the rabbit,
darting from yard to yard,
never still, never safe.

She is the woman
sitting alone in a room,
crying until the walls blur,
until time disappears.

She is the one
who stays there,
and bawls.
All day long.
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