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.

9:09 pm

it bubbles up
presses against flesh
heads up, you'll miss it
come up to the surface
along the eyelash line
see the dewdrops
about to fall, halfway
done, need the sun
to break, call home
you've been gone
for far too long
thunder rumbles
in the distance
calling, calling
guitar strings
plucked, stroked
slides along
skreech sounds
across lei lines
where pressure
builds up, an edge
along the tooth line
can you feel it?
way down we go
the back of my throat
aches when i think
of you 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.

zygote

I've been wandering with my hand in my hair tucking a strand behind my ear looking around listening to all the city sounds and wondering where the hell am I in this world, in this life...who is casting a shadow on the pavement, trembling at the hard strike of noise behind me...who is remembering the songs from earlier years when love was EVERYthing...who is casting the role of lover on a tin paper foil, forgotten in a old pair of jeans too tattered to wear anymore...I keep saying out loud it's too late, it's too late, it's too late...while an ember still burns in a belly full of dreams...the song is still there in soft whispered tones that bubble up in short stuccato phrases, disparate sounds...yet there i am lying awake grasping in the dark and all i hear is an aching silence.



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.