ALL: I come from

CI: sodden slums sculpted into the sides of the andes mountains...

my mother is the type of woman

who smiles like sunshine when speaking...

I look for what needs to be done. After all, that's how the universe designs itself.

-R. Buckminster Fuller...

My dida brings me blessings

in little white bottles...

My hyphen is a dagger

I hide in my hand—reminding you...

I keep words in my pockets—stuffed

together, scribbled on pieces...

So, I wonder. Who were we

when Death still lived in God’s womb?...

mama says the sun tastes better at night

of bed sheets for skin bound to boiled bodies...

I knew its rocks and stumps

And its inclines...

I am homesick for Venezuela,

a country that has never been mine...

Sophia told me she was going to jump out of a tree

at 8 years old...

My fixation upon you struck as lightning

As your colorless presence archly asphyxiated me and...

Amidst August’s falling fervor, I soak

My soul. Strained and damp air engulfs my ears...