Avert my eyes So you don't think My smile is an invitation Speak to you rudely lest you mistake my kindness for a yes Use it against me as you press your body closer to mine Young, blond, and white in a foreign country. Sounds like the recipe for a mistake, right? I was 19, …
Dear Cat-callers of the World
Dear Cat-callers of the World, It's not cute when you wink at me from the driver's seat when the red light comes and you use the time to chat me up when I take the extra long route to feel comfortable again. It's not sweet when you whisper in my ear as you walk past …
A Poem to Women
My heart cries out to the women afraid to be women they don't claim their power certain the sword will slice them Or they hide their truth because it's easier because it would upset because then they'd have to explain it Or they put on a mask of a man, or another not willing to …
Whole Inside
Have you ever lost someone not from your close circle not your immediate family but someone outside of the daily routine? Have you ever felt loss not as a constant dull pain but the kind you have to remind yourself about? like when you wake up to find out you cut your hair in the …
Being a Woman
I got a new tattoo. It is the first that is a tribute for someone else. It began with an idea of flowers on my arm, but it grew into much more. My new tattoo is a symbol for the strong, admirable women in my family. Each is represented in her own flower, which wrap …
Hidden Bodies
Skirts to your knees three fingers - no more. My friends roll them up the waist bulging Tank tops? Not a chance Unless it resembles a t-shirt without sleeves My collarbone hides with my thighs A V-neck? Too low! I don't have cleavage but my friends do I wonder which is better I get to …
Pieces of Home
I. The orange sun descending, nestling its sleepy head into the curves of the earth. The plains dusted with pink haze. The sky kisses one corner then stretches to meet the sun just before it departs. The day ends as our time here arrives. II. The same dust collects on the shampoo bottle left in …
Struggle vs. Victory (Slice of Life: Day 25)
A reverso is a poem with two halves. In a reverso, the second half reverses the lines from the first half, with changes only in punctuation and capitalization — and it has to say something completely different from the first half. -www.readbrightly.com/reverso-poetry-writing-verse-reverse/ What a mountain of emotions! Feeling overwhelmed from the aches and pains. Is the …
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I Kept Walking (Slice of Life: Day 19)
The day of our summit to the glacier began at 3:00 a.m. I woke up physically exhausted and yet awake from the bitter cold in our tent. My thermos was already filled with coffee my tent-mate had prepared the night before. I sipped it slowly as I checked in with my body. I didn't notice …
Eggs for Christmas
On the main street in Cienfuegos, we ventured into one of the local stores that sells basics like flour, rice, eggs, and boxed foods. We were on a mission to get eggs for Christmas morning breakfast and they weren't sold at the produce market (entire chicken? yes. eggs? no.). I grabbed a spot in line, …