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Best Poems Written by Carolina Dominguez

Below are the all-time best Carolina Dominguez poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Details | Carolina Dominguez Poem

I Am the City: the Being

Words unsaid can be undone
And in this way our liberty's forgone
Are we so abandoned in our quest for the throne
That we leave each other starved, carved and alone?
That we remain quiet in the face of adversity
In hopes that there is still a round-about way to own the city
What you fail to see 
Is that the city is me

A thought unspoken goes unheard
It is like an unsolved crime
Where for a time, the criminal is you
Why do you not speak, but fester instead
With this confession rotting inside of your head
Think not, want not.
You've made your thinking so breezy
That you've made it easy
For the media to pull a fast one on you
I shall scream it until I'm hoarse.
When and why did the war against terror change its course?
Because they're traitors? 
Because of treason? 
To what cause?
Treason is just reason, with a cross in front of it
Think about it

And still, the question is unanswered, like so many others.
When did curfew begin to extend past the street lights?
When did guns begin to define a fair fight?
When did learning become memorization?
When did pharmaceuticals begin to run the nation?
When did black on black violence become a second rate topic in rap?
Replaced by the conformity of uptowns and throwbacks and caps?
When did nineteen become the average High School graduation age?
When did teen pregnancy set the stage for the commonplace?
When did Latinas forget that sexiness is more than an outfit?
When did New York become so counterfeit?
When, when or more importantly why?
And perhaps I will believe no answer, because…

My thoughts design me, but 
It is my voice that defines me 
And I am what society is afraid to see
I am a 30 line long side effects warning label
I am the lesson in Aesop's fables
I am the contradicting line in your history book
I am beauty that warrants a second look
I am the reason for which lightly you tread
Because I am the voice inside of your head
I simply am
I am the reason you hate and love the city
But what you fail to see
Is that the city is me

Copyright © Carolina Dominguez | Year Posted 2006



Details | Carolina Dominguez Poem

I Am Broken

His words are like broken glass against my skin

I know now where the end begins

For so long I was blind

And so wrong for some time

I am broken

 

But it's over now

And it all starts with this vow

Self-Examination

Has led to this proclamation

Of feminine freedom

How dare you touch my face

And hurt my heart

And burn the ability to taste 

From my soul and

Replace it with this emptiness you 

Call love

Call love, then – I'll dial the number

See if love's gonna be on your side

Like time

When you try to explain yourself

In your voice like hot thunder

Like a village plundered

Like my heart torn asunder

 

I'm sorry love,

But

Take your jagged glass words

And your rock-like fists

And your monotony of verbs

And your broken promises

And your second-rate kisses

And your half-baked wishes

And those unwanted nocturnal visits

Pack them in a suitcase

And remember this part

Love has dismissed you from my heart

 

Don't look back because you won't find me

I am so far above and beyond you that

You can't see me

Let alone keep me

It's because I'm free now, see?

Copyright © Carolina Dominguez | Year Posted 2006

Details | Carolina Dominguez Poem

I Wish I Had a Happy Story To Tell

I wish I had a happy story to tell
I wish it were the color of orange blossoms
I wish my body were not my jail
I wish…I wish I had a happy story to tell

I love him
So I let him grab my wrist 
As he led me away
I love him I told myself again
I was struggling to keep up as he
Was dragging me to my feet
You see I had let myself fall
I must have lost my balance
When he slammed me against the wall
I love him
I wanted to believe
But my tears kept me from seeing
His weight kept me from breathing
And his hand kept me from screaming
So I yelled instead in my head
That I loved him
My body pressed against the bed
I love him
How ironic I had worn
A pretty white dress
For a pretty white mess
I had not imagined that this would be my end
But I love him I told myself again
And as his knee bruised my inner thigh
My voice was lost within a cry
He’d forgotten to undo his belt
So I took the opportunity to yell
And for a moment I could not see
As if a hot cup of water had been poured over me
I began to drown in it
But then I found in it
Not the water he chose
But instead a broken nose
I love him, now harder to believe
Please don’t 
I mouthed a silly symphony
Please don’t 
Was my silent soliloquy 
Please don’t 
And then it was as if the world were in slow motion
I saw every emotion
Run through his face
As he pushed me away
Could it be that he was setting me free
Unused just as before
I lay crumpled on the floor
And saw his iron boots heading to me
He stood there – the embodiment of all my fears
Careful to avoid my puddle of blood and tears
He said nothing but stood over me
And with one swift kick
He destroyed everything that was left of me
Then he walked out the door
Down the hall
And far away
Leaving behind in his wake
A girl so useless
Not even a proper victim for a rape
But that girl is gone now
She has been replaced
By another with a stronger face
A louder growl
And quite a bite
One who will always put up a fight
Until she finds that you are worthy
Until you are witness to her glory
Then and only then 
Will she tell you this story

Copyright © Carolina Dominguez | Year Posted 2006


Book: Reflection on the Important Things