Pictured above: me playing my most magical role to date as Narrator in Wellesley College Theater Department’s “She Kills Monsters.”
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get busy loving
My Aunty Shirley turns 80 today. She is a light in all our lives. At her Zoom party (because of course we had a Zoom party), someone asked her what the secret is to a long and happy life. What she said inspired my poem tonight. I love her so much. I hope you all… Read more
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i have nothing to say today
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washing our hair
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the 53rd sunday
It’s my first week off in 52 weeks. But I wrote a haiku. I couldn’t help it! I will not be posting this on social media, but if you do happen to read this, thank you!
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52 things.
Fifty-two weeks. Fifty-two Sundays. Sixty-four posts. Countless words. One incredible year. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to say in this post, and not a lot of time actually writing things down. Have I ever done something for this long? Anything? What do I say? What message is so important–what… Read more
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missing midnight
I wrote this poem in large part because, during school holidays, my friends and I made a habit of spending our time together between the hours of 10pm and sunrise. Game nights lasted for hours, and we showed no signs of ever getting sick of each other, somehow. Two weeks into my senior year of… Read more
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la aurora
“La aurora” is the time between darkness and dawn. The closest I’ve come to describing that exact moment is “daybreak”. Mornings have the tendency to blur together these days. I’ve taken to lighting candles in order to ground myself in this new reality of work/school/life from home. What grounds you?
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laugh big!
Hello! It’s my first day of senior year tomorrow. And it’s a friend’s first day of her first year tomorrow, too. And although I regularly write my fair share of very sad poems, I just very badly wanted to write something happy tonight. I am so grateful for a great many things. There is so… Read more
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the great calm
I hope everyone is home and safe. A 7pm curfew here in Jamaica (and school opening pushed back one month) has many of us wondering what the coming weeks will look like. On our family video chat this afternoon, we talked about finding our joy in the things we can control and letting go of… Read more
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i am here
I often struggle with knowing what to write. I started this blog to write about things that matter. To me. To someone. I’m about one month away from week 52, and I don’t really know how I feel about that. More often than not, I quip that each week may finally be “the week.” The… Read more
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the sticky stuff
Last week’s poem was pretty heavy and pretty personal, so I decided to shake things up a bit. After reading this week’s piece, let me know if you can tell how many romcoms I’ve watched this week. Pretty sappy stuff. Enjoy!
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i climbed to the Blue Mountain peak
This weekend, my father, my sister, and I climbed to the peak of Jamaica’s Blue and John Crow Mountains. It was a challenge. And it wasn’t really our challenge. It was one of my mom’s bucket list destinations. We did our best to get her there. I wore her sneakers. Talk about walking a mile… Read more
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the weight of rest
Hi! I have been so tired recently. I’ve found it exceedingly difficult to write. All I can muster are short poems about visceral emotion. Hoping to write something more long-form soon! Here is my latest heart song. Thank you for reading.
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in a city last sunday night
This week’s piece is a rhyme-y poem about the world. Or rather, about all the varied experiences that different people can have on a single night. It was written on a sad, sleepy evening. Thanks for reading.
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21
I’m 21 today! Thank you so much for all the well wishes and memories you’ve shared. For this week’s post, I’ve allowed myself some lazy haikus, because I’m focusing on socially distant family time tonight! But I couldn’t miss a Sunday! So here are my free-written haikus about my feelings on my 21st birthday. Thanks… Read more
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semantics
There is a poem at the end of my rambling! Feel free to scroll past all of this if you’ve gotten used to this being a poetry blog (like I have!). Well, it happened today. I did not want to make a blog post. I don’t know where this came from, and I don’t really… Read more
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mimicry
Hi everyone! Different kind of poem this week. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think! I love your feedback.
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9 months in
(There’s a poem at the end I promise) The past 9 months have taught me that pregnancy must be a hell of a ride. I’ve had a blog for 9 months and it feels like it’s been forever. A lot can happen in 9 months. But I feel like I said that 3 months ago… Read more
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alternate ending
I’ve been thinking about agency lately. And life, and the decisions we make and what they mean. Very vague, but excellent poem fodder. Enjoy!
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step one
Some days it’s hard to get out of bed. I hope this can offer you some encouragement. (FYI if you are looking for new ways to contribute to the BLM movement: tinyurl.com/Resources4-BLM put together by my incredible friend Charity)
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not enough
Writing is hard when it feels like all the vocabulary in the world is not enough to express how terrible everything feels. There is no single string of words that I, or anyone else, can use to address anyone that will say enough of what we all need to hear. I felt so helpless trying… Read more
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loss during covid-19
Hi all. I know so many of us are tired of reading post after post about this pandemic. This is just what was on my heart this week. This has been hard for so many of us in so many ways. A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece about loss during the pandemic for… Read more
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assurances
I have been so tired this week. Finals! How did your week go? What goals did you meet? Which ones didn’t quite get there? Please enjoy this week’s poem, and let me know what you think!
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the hardest sunday
There are so many acts of love that go unsung. Mother’s Day offers us the chance to sing them. This is my second difficult Mother’s Day. I’m grateful for all the love I’ve been receiving from all over. Here, I share with you my prayer to my mother tonight.
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a request for privacy
Per the appeal of the family of Jodian Fearon.
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lists
How much can you tell about someone by looking at their trash? How about the lists they write on sticky notes and napkins and on the backs of receipts? The lists that fall between car seats and under beds and to the bottoms of handbags? I bet you can tell a whole lot. Let me… Read more
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hey, best friend.
(This is not! autobiographical!)
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stuff i wrote this week
I’ve had lots on my mind this week. Here’s three poems I wrote. Enjoy! I slept in my mom’s room for a week after she died. I wish I had written down what it felt like, but I don’t think I had it in me. I found her green juice in the fridge one day… Read more
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ashes to ashes
I wrote a paper for my anthropology class a few weeks ago about ashes and their thingness. If you want to read it, let me know. I wrote a poem, too, about ashes. That one’s right here. Let me know what you think.
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dreamlike
anybody else been having nightmares lately?
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halftime?
“Twelve days ago, I bought that notebook. Today, I am starting my blog.” September 22, 2019 “This first quarter has been incredible. I’ll see you again with another update at halftime.” December 22, 2019 Wow. Six months ago, on September 22, 2019, I decided I had to start my blog. Three months ago, I reflected… Read more
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quarantine
All anyone can talk about is quarantine these days. So here’s a love story. Stay safe, love everyone, be well.
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honey and miel.
This week, I’ve been fascinated by translations. Translating words, expressions, emotions. I decided that I wanted to write a poem that sounded beautiful in more than one language. It was tough finding the right words in English (that also rhymed!) to express what I wrote in the original, Spanish poem. Since I know not all… Read more
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let’s cook
I liked the format of last week’s poem where I typed it on my computer as opposed to straight into WordPress. Let me know if you like this format (is it hard to read? did you prefer it before?). In case you find it difficult to read, I’ve pasted it directly into the reader to… Read more
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i’m okay.
Lots of people have been reaching out asking if I’m okay because of the content of my poems. I appreciate everyone’s concern so much—thank you. I am fine! I have just been deeply driven to evoke emotions with my words; these words do not reflect some internal struggle (although I am a firm believer in… Read more
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#DearWeepingWhiteWomen
An impromptu self-timer photoshoot, some sticky notes, a Sharpie, and a short poem inspired by @staceyannchin. Dear Weeping White Woman I will no longer be apologizing for my anger. I will no longer be apologizing for my tears. I will no longer be apologizing for my nihilism in the face of a world that has… Read more
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letters from home
What is home? What does it mean to go home? Who is home for you? I ask myself these questions a lot, especially when I feel that terrible feeling of unbelonging in a space that was meant to welcome me. This week’s freewrite explores the fleeting half-formed thoughts I’ve had when considering what home is,… Read more
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she
never coffee never woke her up like the day she sipped it while listening to the abridged story of your life. she never breathed as clearly as the moment the breeze swept through your hair and it began to dance. her heart never beat out of her chest until you called it forth. words never… Read more
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from a small town at the end of the world
My love, Since my last letter, so much has happened. Bella fell ill and had to be put in the sick room upstairs with Aunt Mae. I’m sorry my love–we lost her within that week. We think she went in peace. Aunt Mae is still holding on. If this letter does reach you, she may… Read more
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you’re riding a bus
You’re riding a bus. It’s late at night and the flickering of the fluorescent lights above you is starting to mess with your head. You remember thinking that you should’ve turned back for your headphones as you were running out of the door earlier, but you thought you mightn’t have enough time to catch the… Read more
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anatomy
I learned some anatomy today. What happens in your stomach when you mess up: The hot acid of guilt bubbles up Into the pit of your stomach And makes it Dance. . It twists and turns in a waltz and Steps on toes and Loses count and Tumbles. What happens in your chest when you… Read more
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monster
I was looking through my writing notebook for inspiration for this week’s post when I saw something I don’t even remember writing. It inspired me to try and write some poetry using that random string of words as a prompt. I haven’t tackled haikus yet, so I decided to give them a go. Here’s the… Read more
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being home is hard
I used to love being home. My family is a huge part of my identity, and I grew up thinking of my cousins more like little siblings. I still love being home, and seeing all my family. I miss them so much while I’m away. However, when my mom died, home changed drastically for me.… Read more
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viaje a la luna
How much do you know about Federico García Lorca? My answer to that question has changed dramatically since I completed the second half of my Spanish Literature and Cinema course here in Barcelona. In order to get quickly to the meat of this week’s post, I will try to summarize the parts of Lorca’s story… Read more
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Post-Incident | part 2
This is a continuation of a story I started about two weeks ago. I am continuing to work on constructing complex characters, consistent narrative structure, and subtle-but-solid world building. Click here if you haven’t yet read part 1! Our characters so far: A farmer. A banker. A nurse. An expectant mother. End of part 1:… Read more
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the world is grey
This story has a fairly straightforward message, I think. I hope I tell it in a compelling way. Please let me know what you think! The world is grey. And black, and white, and everything in between. It wasn’t always like this. I remember, as a child, there were countless other colors. But as the… Read more
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Post-Incident | part 1
I wrote a story, and I didn’t think it was ready enough to share. I got excited about it, and now I think I want to make it a lot longer than it was originally. So this week, I decided I would instead focus on my world-building. Most of my work thus far has been… Read more
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I got sick.
I was sick this weekend. And of course, being sick, all I wanted was for my mom to take care of me. So here’s my emotional rendition of what happened this weekend. It’s a bit all-over-the-place in style, but I felt as though this was the best way to convey what I went through emotionally… Read more
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I know you know.
This story is not (entirely) autobiographical. More on this at the end of the piece. It started one Monday morning when I looked up from the book I’d been reading for just long enough to notice the people on my morning commute. That’s when I saw him looking at me. At first, I was taken… Read more
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Whose story is it anyway?
I think I overextended this week. I took on a piece that I did not have the capacity to produce effectively in a week. It was a story that began shaping up nicely until I tried to communicate the experience of feeling a negative emotion that I had never experienced before. Why was I so… Read more
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a haiku i wrote
hummingbird hello flutters by without a sound silence speaks volumes
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52 things that matter 