Is This How Marilyn Monroe Felt?
I ask myself when I’m confident.
Charming but deadly, ice cold
but searing hot
like the fire of a sparkler.
When I walk with determination,
you’ll feel the frigid breath of Antarctica,
see the roaring boom of a firework,
hear the battle cry of an eagle.
I glide with windows that scan the horizons.
Each step I take, my feet become sharp talons piercing the flesh of my prey.
Just like her, I am gentle and caring.
This is how I flourish my inner garden:
Let me show you my mindful flowers,
thoughts ripe like fruit,
opinions plentiful like dandelions,
fears towering like trees,
all while vibrant memories splatter the pavement.
This isn’t about what’s inside--
it’s about how to speak with a quiet tongue,
yet still be able to holler the word puta
without a shred of distress.
Charming but deadly, ice cold
but searing hot
like the fire of a sparkler.
When I walk with determination,
you’ll feel the frigid breath of Antarctica,
see the roaring boom of a firework,
hear the battle cry of an eagle.
I glide with windows that scan the horizons.
Each step I take, my feet become sharp talons piercing the flesh of my prey.
Just like her, I am gentle and caring.
This is how I flourish my inner garden:
Let me show you my mindful flowers,
thoughts ripe like fruit,
opinions plentiful like dandelions,
fears towering like trees,
all while vibrant memories splatter the pavement.
This isn’t about what’s inside--
it’s about how to speak with a quiet tongue,
yet still be able to holler the word puta
without a shred of distress.
Lorenzo Aleman is a freshman at Central Michigan University who was born in Hawaii and raised in Chicago. His creative work hits on a variety of struggles that he has faced growing up, and this piece focuses on insecurities and how he's overcome them. The piece "Is This How Marilyn Monroe Felt?" comes from the low points in Lorenzo's confidence. He offers a piece of himself in the form of words that sound pretty good together.
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