s.g. maldonado-vélez is a Puerto Rican poet who is currently attending the MFA program in Poetry at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their work can be found in the following publications: The Moon Zine, the monitor, Zoomoozophone Review and the Shade Journal. They know too little and pretend too much.
1 poem by s.g. maldonado-vélez
i cross the holocene with matches in my pocket
not as an act
of violence or
fear but content
with leaving a
trail lit in
amber skin
bare to compare
when we lay in
bed hard not
to notice that
color swatches
taped to the walls
never match exactly
the shirt you call yours
and i call mine even
though it’s been
over a year and
still i walk catching
sparks on the tip
of my fingernails
as storm clouds
over anthills because
i like to think of myself
as benevolent with
a hearty shake of
the earth sign
since the only
way we got
glo-in-the-dark
shoes as kids
was by accident
lightning bug
smear on asphalt
a couple clear
seconds of light
that now last
for days in our
palms used to
see each other
yet i miss the waver
lethargy on a
matchstick even
asleep you are
in motion amongst
all this pine
bark at the
shadows it’s
intimidating
knowing you
never have
to stop