So i intended to share some of what I've been producing while on this grant, I've just been *incredibly lazy* and hadn't gotten around.
I finished a poetry chapbook manuscript, and am working on a second one at the moment because why the hell not, so I'm going to share some of my favorite pieces I've written, and some of my favorite street art!
Enjoy,
--Claudia
i want to create
with just my hands
until my fingers bleed
and I can’t tell the difference between
blood and ink
--fortitude
Sitting on the tomb
of the woman i was named after,
I’m left with an empty feeling.
I feel like I’m supposed to grieve
but I never knew her.
I feel like I’m supposed to feel anything
but I don’t.
Nobody was even sure of when she was born,
only when she passed. A single date.
My dad says I am bit like her,
she wasn’t giving with her money
but she was giving with her soul.
I guess I’m halfway there
--1980
I am being strangled
by my own mistakes.
Red yarn, going on for miles
looping around my neck
and wrists--
sometimes blades aren’t enough
to break the knots.
Sometimes, teeth are necessary.
I’ve been gnawing at this yarn for years.
Don’t forget to floss,
it does you no good to be careless.
--String Bridges/Rose-Colored Nooses
Red bomber jacket boy,
with the two white stripes along the sleeves,
I know you must be cold
and your fingers must hurt
grasping that bouquet of roses.
Your face looks like you’ve been holding them for an eternity,
I understand.
You are exhausted.
--Holding Hands/Holding Hearts
I remember
at some cousin’s wedding around 8 years ago
my uncle making a speech dedicated to the bride and his son
stating that love
isn’t enough.
I know he said more after that,
But I wasn’t paying attention.
I don’t think I’ve been paying attention since
--Doubt is Hazardous But Inevitable
I want to press my palms against your skin
similarly to how I’d straighten out your bedsheets
when you step out for a cigarette
gently undoing all the wrinkles our bodies left in the beige
flattening-out and re-tucking the duvet
as if I didn't completely dismantle your picturesque bedroom
or picturesque silhouette
--Let Me Make Your Bed