Grateful for the lucha, the battle belonging to
the dreamers,
the underdogs,
And those looking for something better.

My parents,
One reclaiming his roots
The other for love and a better life for their children.
Not giving up
Welcomed or not,
Established a home
with compassion and love.

Grateful for my upbringing,
Raised Catholic but
given the support and freedom to explore.
Because life is but so much more.

To discover myself and become
The best person I can be.
One that would make my parents proud
Just as I am of them.

For the long-forgotten stories
Rising among the ashes.
My family’s struggles, their roots, their everlasting existence.

Humble, loving, and kind,
Stubborn, independent
And one of a kind.
Work ethic reflecting those famous, ringing words
Si se puede,
All is possible.

But our first lesson,
The importance of familia,
An unbreakable bond.
Stronger and better together,
My family is what I’m grateful for.

Time has allowed me to receive perspective like an opportunity. I learned to be selfless which helped me to be reflective.
I remember the battles, back when I was unsure about what mattered. Hard lessons battered my soul until a diamond emerged. Now as an adult I can speak on what I’m grateful for.

Full of melanin so perseverance is my friend.
The puppeteer pulling strings helping me to live. Imagine the odds I had to beat just to get here. Minimal control, I’m grateful for the soul. Naturally magnetic, i’m appreciative in regards to my aesthetics. Life is a present and the present is a gift.

Manifesting dreams is my elective to pick. Existing on this plain with grace exceeds feeling great. Fully capable of giving praise everyday. Compared to the world i am a decimal ok? I have no control within the flow of the world. Grateful for my awareness, senses were awaken now she’s articulating.

I’m speaking on frequencies I hope the readers can hear me. Crisp and pristine i am grateful for poetry. Speaking on myself for when it comes to my health I am grateful.
I have too much to say in relation to this word. Recently realizing I have a lot to be grateful for.

Speaking to every fighter
I’m so grateful that GOD took a chance on ME
Thankful that I am his rider
His unconditional love is beyond measures
His unconditional love is so comforting
Tangible and intangible
I just love the way GOD loves me
Don’t you see
If giving up was easy
Everyone would have took a backseat
Including me
I’m grateful for GOD’s presence
Most importantly never leaving me
Looking at my reflection
I’m grateful the mirror is always in front of ME
In the presence of darkness
GOD’S love always trembles the unseen
What are the fighters singing
Worthy Worthy Worthy
It’s a grateful human being

We can suffer a loss and fall.
We can pick ourselves up and stand tall.
We can let others make us feel small.
We can let their words have no effect on us at all.
We can choose to do nothing.
We can choose to be something.
We can live life unclean.
We can even pursue our dreams.
We can do things alone.
We can be part of a team.
We can walk beside hate.
We can run, full of love.
We can live our lives restrained.
We can fly free, like a dove.
We can drown in sadness.
We can sing and rejoice.
What am I most grateful for?
The power that lies inside of every choice.

The way the dirt folds
beneath my feet
reminding me,
Just how far I’ve walked
Like my grandmother before me.

The way you held my hand
And told me stories.
Unknowingly forging
the path that lay ahead of me.

Endlessly grateful
for all the days
For all the ways
that you taught me to live
my truth, my story.

Words written now
in permanent ink,
I carry forever with me.
“The giving of a blessed life.”
Your greatest gift to me.

This life I cherish.
The time we’ve shared.
This path you’ve forged.

The memories you’ve given me.

Forever grateful,
Is all that I will ever be.
For God gave you to me.

Even for just a brief moment,
in this eternity.

Forever grateful,
Is all that I will ever be.

A chameleon takes many forms in this world

An entity, that is very personal to me, has that same property

The way it can morph into many unique facets is endless

This being enables me to take in the soft air that expands my lungs

The air that’s clean, all around me and allows me to see another day

Part of this creature has my face, is a bit older, wiser and is who I call ‘mom’

Another part of it has an equal amount of age and wisdom, with more masculine behavior, and is who I call ‘dad’

It is mixing lemon-zest ginger tea with a detox formula of cinnamon, cardamom and dandelions

Reveling in the subtle taste of each herb

And noticing that the tang of the lemon is surprisingly overshadowed by the subtle sweetness of its cardamom-dominated partner

This abstract wonder is going to my sister’s house

Worrying that I might clash with her womb mate, my other sister, as I often do

And having those worries dissipate as soon as an intoxicating liquid touches my lips

And mountains of food make a home in my stomach

This hidden beast is vividly imagining anything from butterflies in my backyard to everything
I want Jason Diaz and Keith Powers to do to me

And letting my penmanship kiss endless papers as I let each and every intricate detail run wild because my passion is infinite when written

This sought-after figure is the beauty and self-sufficience that becomes me each and every day

It is when I see good company that I haven’t seen in years but become blessed with the best sense of reminiscence towards

This rarity is a family to cook, pray and share endless meals, stories and laughter with on days not limited to Thanksgiving

This joy is cherishing the fortunes I have been given

This chameleon, with all the layers it possesses, is known as gratitude

i know pain because i know love.
pain & love can be the most powerful or disastrous recipe known by man.
between the two, i sometimes contemplate which carries heaviest within the heart.
some place armor to protect themselves.
others allow the knife to slowly seep underneath their skin.
“always sleep with one eye open.
never take anything for granted.”
this can be torturous within itself —
how can we ever get any real sleep?
are my eyes not for me?
are your eyes for you?
for what we see, are we really seeing for what it is?
pain deludes within the soul.
love delights within the truth.
may our eyes rest peacefully through the most somber of nights.
where darkness resides there is light to be found.
i choose to sleep with my eyes closed.
there is beatitude in trusting the madness.
for i choose to love on and appreciate for what i do have, rather than what i do not.
may this spirit i have be the lighthouse for those that cannot make direction.
for i know being aimless very well.
may those who find me, hold me as i will do for them.
may our hearts be stoned no more.
may the love be enough even for when it may seem very little.
i know pain & i know love,
for in those i choose to be grateful for it all.

When I realized he could see me,
the way I use humor as a distraction.
The way I crave love,
even though I hide from the world.
When he lovingly pointed out the parts of me
that I thought I’ve been hiding so well,
I melted.
I feel naked,
I feel seen.
Being seen is better than being loved.
Many men will have loved me by this time,
the version of me they’ve created in their head.
For that reason, it’s always been a dead end.
Few people have really seen me.
Most see what they want to see,
what they want me to be
what they thought I could be,
if I was just a little less stubborn.

This is different.
This is real and raw.
That’s what I saw.