Questions.

My good friend Angel shared an inspiring article with me today. It talks about life and how we must find the value in our own lives and not the lives of others. The message is that every life on earth has a purpose, value, and a meaning. There is no general meaning to life because we are all very different. Our mission is to find the meaning of our own lives, and use it to move forward. It got me thinking a lot about the decisions we all make every day that bring us closer to the place we are suppose to be. Lately I've found myself questioning the moves I have made thus far in my twenty-something years of existence. I question almost every aspect of my life, especially career and love.

Why am I here? Where am I going next? Is there any fire left inside of me?

Whenever I ask myself these kinds of questions, immediately I hear my friend Jay's voice in my head reminding me how blessed I am. And I am blessed. I am also grateful. But who am I if I am not the poet who questions? Who am I if I can't look behind sometimes? After all, the past is the back bone of my work and the person who I am today.

I write this to let you know - yes, You, little eager soul whose hands are still too soft and clean to hold the meaning of your life - You have to create your own answer, purpose, and meaning. When we were given this life, our purpose was not written in the sky for all to see. We did not get a copy of God's individual plan for our lives. You have to find it in the words you use, and in the things you do.

Get out there....and search.

First Love.

My little sister and I were talking yesterday while we were visiting our dad on father's day. I always enjoy those moments where she and I can just talk about anything. Although she and I have completely different personalities (I am reserved and quiet; she is....not), she reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age. We had the same views and priorities (school, the future, friends, family). Well, one subject we touched base on was the subject of love. She is 15 years old and is currently in her first ever relationship. Somewhere in the conversation she confided in me that she was in love with this boy.

At first I thought, of course she would feel this way. He is, after all, her first real boyfriend. So I asked her..."How do you even know you're in love?". She told me there are many signs that tell her it is love. One is the feeling she gets in her stomach when she sees him or thinks about him. He is always on her mind. Another sign is the urge to go anywhere and do anything for him. She expressed to me that he will be joining the military after high school, and if they are still together, she will definitely follow him. And last, she said the sure sign that she is in love is in his kiss. She said that every kiss, even the short and sweet ones, are literally breathtaking.

As she told me this, my heart swelled with love for my little sister, her innocence, and this wonderful and exciting time of her young life. 

It reminded me so much of my first love. I was 11 years old. The boy I was in love with was a neighborhood kid who I went to school with. He was kind of a bad boy, but he was sweet, funny, and a talented singer. We were good friends and talked on the phone constantly. That was usually the times he serenaded me with a song. I will never forget the first song he ever sang to me (If I ever Fall in Love by Shai). The very first poems I wrote were about this boy, and at the time I felt my fire for him was very strong and intense. Which is why I related to my sister's situation so well. I suppose us Torres girls are more in tune with our inner feelings. When it's love, they tend to float quickly to the surface, and we just know.

Whatever it is my sister is feeling, I'm really happy that she is experiencing it. I asked her if she was afraid to fall out of love - afraid of the pain that would surely follow - and she said no. Her exact words as she shrugged her shoulders were, "YOLO."

Gotta lover her :)

How to Love.

God has given us many gifts. But the gift of loving, and receiving love is one of the greatest gifts of all. Everyone is born with a talent. Some of us are blessed with many. But the one thing God has blessed us all with is the ability to love. 

I am writing this in case someone out there has forgotten, I will remind you...

how to love...


1. Speak.
Speak kind, positive, and encouraging words. Words have the ability to heal, or cause sickness. They can inspire growth, or hesitation. Form your words carefully.

2. Touch.
Do not underestimate the power of a kiss or a hug. Love can be translated into many forms of physical gestures. When words fail, action saves the day...and a life.

3. Relate.
Show compassion and grace. Understand the long and hard journey of those before you. Everyone has a different story, but our paths are few and familiar.

4. Receive.
Open up and accept love when it is given. Love has the incredible ability to build you up and make you strong, even when you feel vulnerable and weak.

5. Forgive.
Let go of all debts and bitterness. Loving is choosing to accept an imperfect person in a world that strives for perfection. Love can not be without forgiveness. Seeds of resentment will stall love in turn stalling your peace of mind and heart.

My favorite things about summer...

1. 

Block parties.

2. 

Poolside view while the sun browns my skin.
Which means, hello freckles...goodbye pale legs.

3. 

Outdoor movie screening at Penn's Landing (Definitely doing it this year!)

4.  

Rain after many days of scorching heat.

5. 

Sporadic BBQs = A great excuse to eat, drink, and play
dominos/board games/bingo with family and friends.

6. 

Two words - Jersey Shore (and no, not the show).

7. 

Cherry water ice and the red stain it leaves on my lips and tongue.

8. 

My birthday (August 12th).

9. 

Easy, casual summer dresses.

10. 

Melting ice cubes against my skin for relief on really hot days.

These are a few of my favorite summer things. 

What are yours?

The grip of Love...

I came across this picture the other day on Tumblr. It is from the movie Love & Basketball. The way he is embracing her, the placement of his hands, and the expression on his face is everything. It's almost as if he is holding her up. The gentle way his fingers are spread says that he wants her to feel the wholeness of his embrace, and at the same time he is trying not to let an inch of her being slip through his fingers. To me, this photo represents not only love, but the genuine need and want of another individual. I hope everyone is embraced this way at least once in their lifetime.

Just thought you should know - A Young Poet's Haiku

A couple weeks ago, a fellow poet, Rebeca, sent me the most inspiring message on Facebook. She told me a funny story of how her 9 year old daughter, Kassandra, discovered a copy of my book, Northside Cries  Lullabies, and how she read a haiku, loved it, and felt inspired to write her own. She ended the message with this: "Just thought you should know. You inspire."

How cool is that! I was completely humbled by her story. Of course I wanted to read the haikus she scribbled down, so I asked my friend and her daughter if she wouldn't mind sharing them with me. She did, and I fell in love with them so much that I wanted to feature them on here and share them with all of you. Please read...

Nintendo

dark pink and pretty,

I heart you.

Crazy man

green glasses and short

I'm laughing.

Jellybeans rolling

down, around and inside small

dark brown fourth grade hands.

Jump, jump high

the moons a baseball

for the night.

Each haiku is a colorful and innocent look into the perspective of a 9 year old. Just perfection. 

Much love to Rebeca and Kassandra for being awesome and for allowing me to share her growing, yet beautiful poetic voice.

Reading her poems actually inspired me start a project with my own students. Now the inspiration has come full circle. Its a beautiful thing when we are able to inspired and then become inspired, isn't it?

All is full of Love...

Love is natural. If you open your eyes, you can find it in everything and in every corner of the world...

Life is the flower for which love is the honey.

-- Victor Hugo

Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.

 -- Marianne Williamson

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.

-- Voltaire

¡Viva Frida!

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have been a huge fan of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo since I first discovered her work in art class back in high school. Not only was she an extraordinary and intriguing artist and person, but her paintings are striking, raw, and very poetic. Most would categorize her work as surrealism, but to Frida her paintings were her reality - a reality of heartache and the chronic physical pain she had to endure due to a trolley accident that fractured her spine, and shattered her pelvis. She only painted what she knew, and that is what I love about her the most.

Today is her birthday. Frida would have celebrated 103 years of life if she did not pass away in 1954 at the age of 47. This post is dedicated to her life and work. Feliz Cumpleaños Frida! You live on forever!

"I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."

Self-portrait 1926, Oil on canvas

Lo Que el Agua me Dio, 1938

Las Dos Fridas, 1939, Oil on canvas

"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best."

Self-portrait 1940, Oil on canvas

Diego en Mi Mente, 1943, Oil on masonite

"There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst."

Raices, 1943, Oil on sheet metal

La Colomna Rota, 1944

El Venadito, 1946, Oil on masonite

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

Self-portrait with portrait of Dr. Faril, 1951, Oil on canvas

For more on the wonderful Frida Kahlo visit her official artist website.