"nena" poems
Napabuntong-hininga na lamang
Tila ba tumatakbo ang bubutil na pawis sa noo niya
Sasabak na naman si Tatang sa gyera
Pilit binuhat ang sakong mas mabigat pa sa kanya
Marupok na ang mga buto
Ngunit hindi ang puso
Ang wika nya, "Walang hindi gagawin para sa apo."
Si Nena, sampu na ang anak
Hindi na magkanda-ugaga
Iiyak ang isa, gutom naman sa kabila
Sa sususunod na buwan,
malapit na siyang manganak
Ang ama ng mga bata, naroon sa kanto
nagpapakalunod sa alak
Sabi nga nila, walang hindi gagawin
ang magulang para sa anak.
Tanghaling tapat na,
almusal pa rin ang hinahanap
Natulala na lamang si Nena nang malaman,
ang tatay niya'y
patay na
-Tula X, Margaret Austin Go
Nov 22, 2014
Nov 22, 2014 at 2:22 AM UTC
#No me diga – la nena ‘ta pregnant again?
(I thought she decided no more after Tito…)
she’s almost 16 – and she dropped out of school.
(It might be the spice in abuela’s sofrito…)
There’s one in the oven and two in the stroller
Oh nubile Boricua, what gives – ¿Qué sería?
if life is the masa and birth is the bakery
yours is a virtual panadería…
Some pulse in your short-shorts, those flexible hips
under tropical rhythm of lewd reggaeton
seems to summon the ***** from your lover’s abundance
whenever you find yourselves home and alone.
Where’s your man? Who’s the daddy? Why didn’t he stay?
your gaze is unsettling, harshly pathetic.
You sad Betty-Boop: are you waiting in vain
for your man – or your period? How unpoetic…
This life lived on welfare, entitled, enslaved
with your babies at grandma’s and you with your phone
is a taxpayer’s nightmare and teenage recurrence
(but you’re busy texting some drama unknown…)
Mamita herself looks more like your hermana
She started this game even earlier, too
When you stand, side by side, in your thongs and pijama
it’s hard to be sure who is who.
Sep 9, 2015
Sep 9, 2015 at 8:44 PM UTC
Siempre eliges tan bien tus palabras
sin espacios para la fantasía
para un escenario que mantenga mi cabeza fría
dame un poco de espacio, dame un poco de tiempo..
déjame entrar.
déjame quererte como quiero
relaja un poco el pensamiento
conmigo no hay resentimiento
aquí no hay intrigas
y no hace falta que me digas
que te han tratado mal
y que aun no sanan tus heridas
nena ya deja de ver atrás
sabes bien que no hay espacio para dudar
y aunque no estoy seguro de lo que pudiera pasar
nunca tengas miedo de intentar
por que lo peor que podría sucederte
es que sin saberlo empieces a quererme.
Jun 8, 2013
Jun 8, 2013 at 2:03 AM UTC
Growing up i looked up
to you.
You showed me what it was like to be brave.
But that one day, you chose to mess it all up.
"Come to my room, lets watch a movie."
Little did I know , I was about to be violated in my own home.
"Give me a hug"
But oh this was no hug, i wish I would'e known.
How could i have been so DUMB.
"Oh its not my fault" I say, I was too young.
The feeling of your touch down there.
"This doesn't feel right.."
" i don't care"
Nena walked in, "What the hell are yall doing??"
"He said to give him a hug" I said
That night, we got a stern talking to.
"Don't ever do that again"
Was that it? All you had to say?
I had felt like my innocence had been taken away.
Years later, there's not a day that goes by
where i don't think of that traumatizing, long-lasting memory of mine.
Maybe I'm just overreacting.
Or maybe, you should've taken action.
I'll never feel the same again.
Jun 17, 2025
Jun 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM UTC
Un dia orando le dije a mi Señor
tu el alfarero y yo el barro soy
moldea mi vida a tu parecer haz como tu
quieras asme un nuevo ser.
Coro
Me dijo no me gustas te voy a quebrantar
y en un vaso nuevo te voy a transformar
pero en el proceso te voy hacer llorar
porque pr el fuego te voy hacer pasar
Quiero una sonrisa cuando todo va mal
quiero una alabanza en lugar de
tu quejar, quiero tu confianza en la tempestad
y quiero que aprendas tambien a perdonar
Nov 3, 2015
Nov 3, 2015 at 3:23 AM UTC
Hi this is Nena's phone, I can't come to the phone right now
I'm on a journey
I don't really know I am anymore
you can leave a message but chances are I probably won't return it any time soon
if its an emergency hang up now and call 9-1-1! I can't help you!
Don't try to find me because I'm on a journey
somewhere between the past and the future
I don't really know when I will be back
but if you are in this for the long haul
please leave a message at the tone
Aug 18, 2015
Aug 18, 2015 at 10:03 PM UTC
It was kind of crazy,
Army guys listening
to Nena & her red luft balloons,
Kim Wilde’s American Kids,
a bit of Madonna Lucky Star and
Lauper’s girls just wanting to have some fun.
Man o’ man,
we danced our drunk ***** off
with all them pretty little lasses.
And like we gave a flying ****
for in a moment’s notice,
we might have been
Airborne,
hoooooaaaaah.
Aug 7, 2014
Aug 7, 2014 at 4:00 PM UTC
Photographs of my family hang on the wall.
Some I know.
Some would recognize me.
Others I know only from the stories
that immortalize them.
There is a family portrait in the hall
it tells tales that great legends envy.
For the stories left by these faces
will never be forgotten,
retold at bedtime for generations
to come.
The portrait speaks of a time
before cancer and old age.
Back when Linda and Debbie ran the house
and Jorge still went by Georgie.
Kathy was falling in love with dirt bikes,
Joey had to take Jimmy everywhere
and Nena made everyone save food
for when Silvia got home from school.
All the while Papo sipped his scotch
and watched his legacy leave their footprint
in the sand.
Truth is I’ve always known
he’d live forever.
Long before he began his walk home
Papo was already immortalized
in our memories and spirits.
Now that you rest
I find comfort knowing that I
carry your story with me,
and have the honor of calling you
Grandfather.
For us, you will always be
the legendary
Vincent Joseph Schement.
Sep 4, 2014
Sep 4, 2014 at 11:02 PM UTC
They say so sorry for your loss
but that doesn't do any good
I thank them for their intentions
but everything has been thrown
into a feeling cycle
times when I just want to forget
others when I want to go back
regardless of time
I just want you
They say 大個女啦 不要再哭了
You're a big girl now , no more crying
他只是走先一步
He's just gone one step ahead
只要他還在你心中那已足夠
as long as he's still in your heart that's enough
but no
not even the world
is enough anymore
incomplete that's it
words don't mean much
nothing more
I just want you
give me strength
with love from your nena
wherever you are
with love always
Jun 10, 2012
Jun 10, 2012 at 6:09 PM UTC
weightlessly
the squirrel
frolics,
aping one
luft balloon
of 99.
a mighty oak
it climbs,
coming to rest
in the
lush canopy
along with
the balloon.
deflated,
the balloon
falls to the ground
while
the squirrel
looks down
at the
deflated balloon,
snickers,
and
continues
its frolicking
from tree top
to tree top.
Oct 22, 2019
Oct 22, 2019 at 8:23 AM UTC