I.

Mamá takes us to a toro fight-

says we should learn more about our culture.

It’s a party of fried food and loud music

Dumb men

and naive children

A man falls, he doesn’t get back up.

And we learn more about our culture

II.

I wonder what I’d be missing;

Had i chosen to be smarter

about the choices in my life

Had I known I’d miss this moment

would i do it all again?

Who knows?

June knows.

III.

Faces red and patchy-

Uneven makeup to cover it up

Blisters of an evening’s sun

still stinging

I walk away from beady eyes

towards the street.

I stand

and burn

I pretend to be pale enough-

Like my untrained skin isn’t begging

for escape

IV.

A vampire gave me some sunscreen:

promised it’d help keep away the burning-

A fire mermaid told me about her dead chicken:

told me he was cremated-

A headless unicorn gave me some advice:

to value nothing but the cost-

A mindless friend told me she cared…

I told her wait until July

she just looked away

V.

I continue to suffocate

Long after I’ve outrun a soulless sun

Burn under a questioning glance

VI.

Leathery skin tightens with the summer heat-

Pollen pollutes my insides like a parasite.

I hurt all over.

June is my month to grieve-

Walking around like my love still breathes

I’m suffocated by cut grass scent and

an inability to weep

eleven months out of the year.

Tonight I tell mamá I am sick-

she makes me tea

then shuts the door.