this heart, my heart,
beats in poetry
because it doesn’t know
how else to beat,
because it doesn’t know
how else to feel,
because it doesn’t know
how to let out everything i keep inside.
this heart beats in poetry
for you,
for me.

i am magic.
i am the night sky and every single star,
i am the ocean and every ripple and wave.
i am a house of flesh and bone,
of hope and freedom.
i am a bird,
wild and free,
i am everything i dream of being.
i am a song,
a song of bravery and love,
of light and gold.
i am a voice that is not unheard;
my words are not shouted off into a void.
i am my heart, my words, my love.
i am known,
i am loved.

me quiero así.
me quiero así, con mis ojos color noche
y mi nariz redonda
y la luna de canela que vive sobre ella.
me quiero así,
con mi pelo rizado e indomable
que solo se deja llevar por el viento.
me quiero así,
con mi piel del mismo color
del café con leche
que me gusta tanto.
me quiero así,
con mi poesía y sin ella,
con las palabras que siento,
con las palabras que callo.
me quiero así,
mágica y única;
porque así soy,
porque así me hicieron,
porque sí.

i will always be her,
this girl with the wild curls
and the gentle eyes
that look for poetry in the sunset sky,
and i will always be her,
this girl with bravery
seeping into her bones,
with freedom tattooed on her skin.
i will always be her,
this girl with a heart
full of dreams and hope,
and words to write.
i will always be her,
this girl with a soul too big,
a light too bright.
i will always be her,
and no one can't take that from me.

you say that when i’m skinny
i’ll be pretty,
but don’t you see that now
i smile easily,
and my eyes look like the stars?
don't you see that my laughter
sounds like a song,
and my feet are lighter
and nothing weighs me down?
you say i will be pretty,
but don’t you see that i already am,
that i always have been?
don’t you see i am much more than
pretty,
that i am someone with dreams,
with hope and light?

you are the sky
and your smile is the sun
and i hope every day
to see the sunrise on your skin,
to see your lips dance
as you let the light in
you are the sky
and your eyes are the stars
and i wish upon them every night.

i love me like this,
with the night in my eyes
and the cinnamon moon
that sits atop my nose.
i love me like this,
with my wild and untamable curls,
who only listen to the wind.
i love me like this,
with my skin that matches
the café con leche i love to drink.
i love me like this,
with my poetry and without her;
with the words i feel
and the words i’ve kept to myself.
i love me like this,
light and free;
because this is who i am,
this is who i was made to be.