#theevergreensessions

[c-e-salazar]

They say that our bodies are 70% water & there is calcium in our bones derived from collapsing stars & how i love that we created imagery & language to help each other cope with the intrinsic terror of being alive. & at the Big Bang, or when God gave Adam a piece of His soul, the universe exploded with stories to tell - & i love how every human being that has ever been born has dipped their toes into that well. My mother is the strongest woman i’ve ever known but survival has taken up her whole life. & it’s been in quiet moments she’s shared if she could have been anything, she would have chosen to write - & tears have swelled in my eyes, because over the years, i have performed in front of thousands & i know now every second of stage fright was mine - but the boldness & courage - that’s been the power of my mother’s maiden name - from the depths of a collapsing star to the tides of the ocean, to this very moment - Vonnegut was wrong. Everything is beautiful - but all of it hurts. & what a wonderful, inexplicable terror to be alive at the edge of a universe that seems so hellbent on the meaning of insignificant stories from hearts that beat with the rhythm of the tides while singing love songs to the memory of long dead stars. How could anything born of this universe not be romantic?

[c-e-salazar]

The best friend i ever had possessed eyes that beamed like the bright blue sea & a laughter that filled every corner of the room. He died alone under an August sky just miles away but further from me than he'd ever been. Long before that, i kissed a girl with a smile that shone like the sun, who wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. She used to ask me about the future & what i wanted out of life back when i was still too afraid to believe in myself. She died in the spring while the lilacs were still in bloom. They're both gone & i'm still here, & i think about that on both good days & bad. The dead are with us, & we owe it to them to live without fear & extract every bit of joy from the marrow of our days.

[c-e-salazar]

i have begged like a dog for scraps that were not meant for me. i have stolen moments that were not made for me. i have accepted fragments that did not belong to me. i've forgiven just as much as i've forgotten, but i have never asked someone else's permission to be who i was born to be. If the darkness of my mistakes belongs to me, then the dim light that endures in my heart does too.

Excerpt from The Evergreen Sessions

[c-e-salazar]

i was able to share a poem last night in a space filled with so many great poets. It’s not for the faint of heart, but poetry rarely ever is. Here’s a snippet. #writeaboutnow #houston #poetry #spokenword #theevergreensessions (at Avant Garden Houston) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0V15ZElOl5xPtpY3QsSmQBKQ0KhVSCd3ewePc0/?igshid=s2dyyaddf4tw