12:10 am

i'm a reluctant participant
in this life of mine at times
figure it's worth a cup of salt
water first thing in the morning
the world is on fire, blood on
the ground and military coups
in the making against a dark sky
how many lives actually matter
during a torrential downpour
we are lost pieces in a battle
steeped in a reactionary war
who really lurks in the shadows
promising bullet holes and bombs,
the world is on fire while the taste
of salt lingers on my tongue
there is no boogie man, only fear
and the inability to sleep alone

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2016 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

stumbling

she wears a dress
color of ripe melon
flesh to hide the pink
sunburn on her pale
white skin, clever girl.

my niece wants
to grow up and
keep the planes
of her changing
body flat, angular,
to be a clever boy.



All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2016 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Penny Thoughts

An avocado pit lies broken open
hollowed out tender sprout.
A wall of rain is broached 
with a tilted brain.
Who steals in increments?
Loose change at the bottom
of a purse, pennies short.
A cold pear waits
against the desk light.
Bite down hard, break skin.

Storing items at the bottom
of an empty coffee can  
reminds me of another time
when we were holding
ourselves solid against a wall.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Prey

A shadow is lingering in the back of my brain
candy wrapper crackling in the darkness
teeth striking against sharp enamel edges
waiting like a cat ready to pounce on prey
ever watchful for the sound or the movement
that will set off the next chain of events
wasting time 'til the spark sets us on fire.

I dreamt that you died and you forgot
to say good-bye. How can I sleep
when the chair keeps being left wide
open in the yard ? A gaping mouth
with no one around to fold it close,
where downward facing dog
is the new prayer pose, no words,
just breath and beads of sweat
to offer as sacrifice.  

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Twice Promised

It’s strange now to think of you after all this time. A letter twice folded slipped into the back of a desk drawer. There are marks on me where the pen met the paper. A past filled with promises. The present left unattended. Where do we go from here? You kept asking. On the back porch I drink a glass of cold water making my teeth hurt. My answers are incomplete. Shelves are brimming with unread books. Where do we even start?  A question mark perched on the edge. I would apologize if I knew what you did wrong. We move, move, move to stop from thinking about each other.  Now that I've paused, flood waters. Remind me to look you up after I’ve sorted the recycling. Sitting quietly with past, I surrender. 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Esta Noche

It’s Friday…and it’s slightly past the middle of the day and I can barely keep my eyes open. Feeling a bit low-energy. I’m on my second 12-oz of cold water to try to shake me awake. It’s not working. Instead, it just makes me want to pee often. I’m grumbly and moody. I ate a healthy veggie chili with a spicy kick that I made last night. It was yummy. But I’m feeling high-strung and upset today. I reached out to a friend and we kvetched about writing and it made me laugh at that moment. But now I’m back with chin in hand wanting to connect with my sci-fi novel. The one that’s not working. I’m frustrated. So I work on other things but the other projects don’t leave me satisfied. Instead, it heightens my frustration. Ergh!
Anyway, I wrote the following passage on the train home after Heart’s concert on Wednesday. It’s a pretty rough first draft….

Afterwards

In darkness love could be wrong

legs cross away, we do no speak clearly

bottles left uncovered, spilling over.

I am lost on First Avenue at midnight

bags lean against my thigh

she leaves me, reading a book.

My music consists of guitar players,

quiet vocals singing my lost poetry

We don’t speak, we squeeze into tight

subway spaces reminded that we loved

each other once. My watch has stopped,

your time is wrong and neither figure

on being right for a change. Wait,

while I write complicated prose

on my back teeth, past Cypress Avenue

at half past midnight and limp away

on blistered knees and bleeding feet.

Open my eyes and you have left me

again. Black kohl smudge the page

from stained fingertips. Inverted

phrases say nothing and tease me

that I was once a poet who wore

a black trench on a humid October

night and the rains have kept away.

You love me, especially at night

alone, keeping company with memories.

Ignite the corrections and a foot stamps

against the train floor. Pack a layer

of the past, the mewling cat demands

to be fed as Ann Wilson sings my path

home when uncovered bottles tip over.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Morning Poem

The sky is open with rain today
eyelids flutter with sleep, unprepared
for pinched straps, tight subway cars, wet shoes
plod on grey carpets leaving behind
dewy prints and bloody mary drops
exhaled sighs, elastic images
stretch across dark green sight losing sea
a thirsty mouth will not soon forget
the taste of clean water on dry lips.


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.