“Since When Is My Heart A Campsite?”

I don’t know why things don’t catch on fire when the embers from the flames we’ve created spark

off.

Maybe it’s because we’ve created that fire with love…

I’ve created that fire with love.

I used the memories and laughs you gave me

and I turned them into firewood.

The flames ate those right up and the fire grew.

And as time passed the fire dimmed and the firewood became less and less.

Your laugh stopped being the same and your eyes were dull and lifeless.

Did I do that to you?

Did the fire burn so bright it ended up burning you out?

Eventually I had to create my own firewood and use that as a source to keep feeding the hungry fire

whose flames licked up and down my skin.

And it left me with third degree burns and a broken heart, but I had to keep it going somehow…

Right?

“Stacy Sun and Her Lover Sal”

They say Mercury is in retrograde

and that is why my luck is so bad

why I’ve been so down.

Even with Mercury in retrograde

Even with all of the planets against me

Even with the constellations misaligned at my expense

You are still my lover

My zodiac queen, reigning

Leaving me weak

at the knees

And at your mercy.

How is it that Mercury and company could wish misfortune upon me

when I am accompanied by the moon and stars

all at once?

You have the galaxies inside of you.

You are made up of the light of the stars

and have Saturn’s rings around your hips.

I am merely the sun…

I burn anyone who gets too close.

It can’t be Mercury.

It must be something else.

*The opinions and ideas expressed are solely those of the author, and may not reflect the opinions of The Bronx Brand*

Lu Perez is from the Eastchester section of the Bronx but currently resides in the Fordham area. Being Latina and growing up in a predominantly Hispanic/Latinx community in the Bronx has been a great influence in the way she writes. Her appreciation for her Dominican heritage comes through in Lu’s work. From the slang, the open fire hydrants during the summer, the sticky streets and booming music have become pieces in the puzzle that forms Lu’s identity; these are the experiences that have had a profound effect on the way Lu perceives the rest of New York, and the world.

Be sure to follow her on instagram: instagram.com/afro.latinaa