I'm in love
Home Affairs: A canceled writer, some thoughts on competition, a conversation with strangers, recovering the will to keep going, a workshop, no news, and leaving Miami.
Good poems don’t come to me anymore. And I hate to imply that they ever did. Scratch that. Whatever (good or bad) poems came to me, something in my poetry has changed. Yesterday, to be specific, my first real great poem knocked on my forehead. And it’s important, I believe, to share it with you:
God
I suddenly love mimosas
and vaping marihuana
I love my son
I love my husband
God, I love them.
Life is beautiful
and I am young
there’s still so much
terrain to conquer
The other day I overheard a conversation between two friends. One of them was complaining about how competitive his professional field is these days. I didn't get more info from his words, but I could sense he was in Tech from his looks and mannerisms. His friend nodded while sipping coffee.
I disagree with you, stranger. Having competition is not just important, but vital! to improve in any craft or job. For me, it’s crucial to read something and go, “Damn, I wish I wrote that.” It’s essential to admire. And that dance that competition and comparison sets us in might make you feel envy. But that’s the very first layer. If you go deeper, you’ll access rage.
Leila Guerriero wrote, “Escribo como si boxeara. (I write as though I was boxing.)” I understood exactly what she meant. That invisible and insatiable revenge that pushes every line and threads every paragraph. It’s a force that, in my case, was born at an early age.