Rouren Torres

Sometimes I feel like screaming;
Others like kicking.
On a more childish occasion,
Giving a whine as protestaton.
...

Kiss me,
I dare you.

Hold me,
...

You may not.
For a summers day,
In its heat
In its radiance,
...

What if? ...
It slips off our tongue,
Falls off the tip.
...

Pull the red string tight against my wind pipe,
Witness the blood as it slithers away from me,
And lend your ear to attest to my hearts rallentando beat.
...

I can think clearly,
But don't do well
When it comes to spelling,
I mean speaking.
...

She had gripped my arm as her fear trailed down her cheeks.
My pillow, soaked, as she leaned into me,
Almost swallowed whole the sob that parted her lips.
Delicately, her breath brushed my shoulder and her hair my chin.
...

I choked.
As simple as that,
As easy as breathing;
Sometimes easier than.
...

Not at all about you.
Never about you,
Yet somehow… always
About you it seems.
...

I'm Puerto Rican.
I'm not Je-lo, not sweet caramel skin or flowing auburn locks.

I'm sitting in a classroom being told I'm not really Latina.
...

It's wonderful;
When you have a conversation with someone and they just nod and that is all you need because their enthusiasm and understanding is trying to vibrate out of their bodies.

It's wonderful;
...

Let's play a game.
Let's play pretend.
Let's say our lives,
our love, will never end.
...

You must be polite.
You must be plain.
You must never whine,
never complain.
...