A STRANGER WITHIN
by Ruby Nambo
A Stranger Within
That’s her: sitting by the green grass.
She looks so beautiful,
With her long black hair.
Her figure isn’t perfect unlike most women
But you can tell she is worth more than anyone else.
She eats a torta:
Full of refried beans
And a slice of queso rancho.
I have seen her around a few times.
She quite popular and helpful with the community.
I see her with her friends
To have a bit of fun
And I had a few short conversations with her.
But today, its different.
She was eating her torta alone.
I didn’t understand why,
But I aspire to know.
She had her wireless earbuds
In her pierced ears listening to music.
I walked into the green grass
And went close to her.
When I approached her,
She got up from the grass,
And shove me backwards.
“Leave me alone!” and vanishes in tears.
I was confused on what occurred.
This beautiful woman that I admire
And how she spread hate towards me
Left me in a blur
I got up from the grass
And began to search her.
From my left to my right
She was nowhere to be found.
I continued the search until 3 PM,
And found her at the cement bench.
Quickly I ran up to her
Asking if she was okay.
Instead of getting ready to slap me,
She said “Come sit by me, there’s room for you.”
I sat on the bench with her
Before she decides to change her mind.
“Why did you shove me,
Back at the grass field an hour ago?”
“I wanted to be alone.” She says
I wasn’t going to accept that answer.
Deep in her dark eyes,
There was something hidden inside of her.
“You don’t have to tell me,
But you seem insecure about yourself.”
She glances directly towards me,
Then at the sycamore tree above us.
“Its okay, you just have to build trust.
Every time I see you,
You look confident in yourself.
You stand tall when times are bad,
And that’s what I like about you.”
I smiled at her and left the bench.
“If you need someone,
llame me and I’ll be there for you.”
I pace a few steps from her
And suddenly she ran to me.
She hugs me like a secure home
And said—
“Thank you. This is what I needed.
Thank you for your honestly.”
Since that day, my honestly did a lot
I earned her respect but her corazon too.
To this day, I never forget as she became:
My best friend and my lover.
A Prayer of a Better World
Standing on the smooth sand,
That my feet touch
On the roaring waves at the local beach,
I glance ahead towards the grey sky.
Looking concern about the future,
Thinking “Will everything be okay?”
It seems like the world is always filled
With hatred and violence.
As I turn around away from the beach,
And walking into the city,
I see many people filled with pain.
There are people in the streets struggling to find a job,
or making ends meet for themselves or their family.
There are children with brilliant minds,
But risk their education as if it was worthless.
There are people who are into harm
That led their victim say “Don’t shoot me!”
But get shot anyways because they try to do the right thing.
Walking into the city, its always filled with trash,
Like plastic straws, wrappers and rotten gum.
Up ahead, you can see the thick black smoke,
From the cars up in the air with a mix of cigarette smoke.
Together, they make an excellent mixture
Of gasping air and say “Help! I can’t breathe!”
When I walked into the local coffee shop,
You hear people be so rude,
With their twisted words, calling each other:
Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic,
fat, helpless, stupid and so on.
Thinking that it will solve everything,
But instead their words began a War of Hatred.
The worst war that is there is when people tell you
to go back to your country,
even when your country is no longer home
because of the wars between the people
and the corruptive government.
Where is the love in the depressing world we live in?
Where is the dream of a miracle of acceptance?
Where is the peace of happiness and not filled with struggle?
Where is the freedom that must be celebrate and not stolen?
A silent night is in demand,
Where one doesn’t have to ask every night
“Will I still be alive tomorrow?”
Dear Mentor,
Is it really true about what you said?
That you see so much potential in me?
Did it ever occur to you that our relationship?
Would just be for a short period?
Or did you want it to last longer?
Well to be honest, I didn’t think so.
I only thought it would occur
for a short period.
But why me?
What makes you sure about the potential in me?
You uncover my blindness from the bed covers
While at the same time showing my eyes
To listen for the shining pathway.
“Take it! It will be worth every minute!
It will be worth every beat full of memories,
So you can repaint it to show others.”
But why me?
Why not the person that paints their resume in color
instead of black and white?
You struck on luck
For those who you hear potential,
Especially in their own name.
A name where you hear a promising future
For one and not for all.
But promise me that you will give it to everyone
and to provide a promising future to those around you.
They might even taste success
And that is the best flavor ever.
Time passes by
while it skips a beat or two,
and look at me?
What do you see?
As for me, what do I see?
You see a potential grow into a real promise.
You gave it your all for me to succeed,
But I have seen nothing but hard work
From someone that believed in me.
About the Author:
Ruby Nambo is from Sultan, Washington a senior attending Central Washington University majoring in English Education and a minor in bilingual education. Ruby has been writing passionately since the age of eight. Her work has been featured in Manastash Literary Journal, along with Z Publishing’s Washington’s Best Emerging Poets and America’s Best Emerging Poets. To see her work, please visit www.nambowrites.com
