I want to write
———dirty poetry;
——————you heard right.

Words that aren’t gold
———because they’re too busy
——————grinding against the dirt.

I’ve been yearning
———to live
——————beyond the poverty

sticking to my palms.
———I shredded my diary
——————at seventeen,

tried to silence
———the frenzy of youth.
——————I’ve been pulling away  

at strands in my verses,
———combing out
——————the glitter.

I want to be honest
———I may have traded
——————God for poetry

wanting / to make / love.

– Claudia Rojas