Poetry 

Back and Forth

1

forth

days rush forward like run-on sentences gasping for semi-colons
each time i catch up they move even faster so fast the faces watching become a
blur and i try to show them i can win this race until finally i—full stop.

2

back

pockets of sky peek through the Jacaranda
leaves shudder, then everything is still
tangled branches make an archway in silhouette
framing the street with no end

i sit beneath the trees to hear myself breathe

Second Language (spoken word)

My emotions are too interwoven to separate them out like people outside of the grocery store on a nameless afternoon
Lined up around the block like they’re waiting for the holy grail of sneakers to drop
Not to grab the last bag of frozen peas and nervously loiter near the toilet paper wondering how many rolls they need

Aisles go on for miles when every decision weighs heavy like the words I feed myself when the world feels

HEAVY

My second tongue cuts deep but hides in silence
Every day a new act of violence
They say go within
I fight entire battles beneath my skin

It’s the kind of talk we never talk about
For fear of sounding weak
Even though I know it must take strength to shatter these beliefs
The words we swallow instead of breathe
Patterns we follow without thinking
Even though thinking is all we do
Because if anyone heard us, they would say

Watch your language

So we sugarcoat our lives because otherwise we might be tossed out like bruised fruit no one wants to buy

Day after day after what day is it?

I remind myself
Don’t sanitize your thoughts
But how can you not
When all we’re taught
Is to wash away our pain