Tierra Desconocida

sangre sacrificial,
dio de renacer esta tierra al mundo,
esta tierra amable, orgullosa, feliz,
con su gente fertil, ermosa, majestuosa,
patria de mis padres,patria de mi gente,
que tengo todavia de conocer,
aun te guardo un amor,
para cuando al fin de frente a frente nos podamos ver.
--"quiroz" 2004

is it all you had hoped it to be?

Has it gotten better,
Now that you're on your own?
Do you now know happiness,
Now that you're not by my side?
Does your life seem easier,
Without me in your way?
And have you strenghthened those relationships,
You said felt strained because of me?
Do you now sigh a breath of relief,
That you can do whatever it is you please?
Well I hope you're enjoying your new found life,
And that it is all you had hoped it to be.
--"quiroz" 2004

broken smile

Lost in love I used to smile alot,
Now this broken smile is all I got,
A false illusion of the real thing,
Uncomparable to what you are used to seeing,
But these days it is all I know,
To hide these emotions I am afraid to show,
And I will myself to never frown,
Lest they know I am feeling down,
So I still smile and smile alot,
But with this broken smile because it is all I got.
--"quiroz" 2004

wishful thinking

I wish I could say I don't think of you throughout the day,
Or that I don't long to hear your voice when alone in my bed I lay,
I wish those happy memories wouldn't flood back all the time,
You know, memories of when I was yours and you were mine,
I wish I could wake up tomorrow beside you,
Profess how much I love you and hear how much you love me too,
I wish to awaken one morning and realize it was all a dream,
I in your arms,You in my life,And all as happy as it once seemed.
--"quiroz" 2004

fall from grace

Soon I will be forgotten,
Become a memory of what once was,
A fleeting glimpse of a lost soul,
Roaming his empty life to find himself.

Searching in the arms and lips and sex of unknown men,
To find a piece of that lost dream of what I was to become,
And trying to loose this skin of my actual becoming,
This shameful, guilty skin that squeezes me lifeless as I sleep,
Beside him, beside her, beside myself as I watch in disgust.

I tried to find solace in the Big City speak-easy's, sex-easy's,
But instead I cruised Solitude in the shadows of the night,
And he and I elicited our affair on our backs, on our feet, and on our knees,
Begging for forgiveness for a life I have failed to escape,
And a life I have failed to keep pretense.

Now my crystal castle has come crashing down,
The shards of it leaving their scars on my face for all to see,
Shame, guilt, anger, sadness, relief...
As I declare, "I am a gay American".

a friendly reminder to vote

"20 Million Loud!"
"Declare Yourself"
"Vote or Die"
"Rock the Vote"
"Choose or Lose"
What are you waiting for?
A formal invitation?
It's in your face, it's all around,
Almost as much as sex, violence,
You can't protest you didn't know,
No one will buy into your stupidity,
Unless your initials are George W. Bush,

And fuck you if I'm being unpatriotic,
My patriotism is in my freedom of speech,
So that they know in war they didn't die in vain,
And even after "Mission Accomplished" they haven't died in vain,
Unpatriotic would be to not exercise our rights,
Rights they have given their lives for us to enjoy,
Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters
Brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors
Co-workers, husbands, wives, lovers
Dead, dying still everyday

And at home the colors of the rainbow represent our level of alert,
Our level of stress by which to function with throughout our day,
Keeping us freightened, keeping us controlled,
With the help of the conglomerate "free press",
As they turned our losses on the battle fields into ultimate reality TV,
And they blame the difficulty of success overseas to bad luck,
Not wanting to admit to the grand American mind fuck,

And still you don't care,You have children and still you don't care,
You pay taxes and still you don't care,
You're of draft age and still you don't care,
You're about to retire and still you don't care,
You're black, you're white, you're brown, you're yellow, you're red,
You're green, you're gay, you're straight and still you don't care,
Soon you'll be stripped of you rights and guess what?
They won't care!

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

I've tried to erase you from memory
Erase the pain withinI've tried to forget the way you held me
Forget the safety of your embrace
I've tried to not remember your voice
Remember its calming effect over me
But no matter how hard I tryI can't erase you
Much less forget you
Because I'll always remember
I'll always remember you

I'll always remember that initial conversation
the first date
the first kiss
the night we made it official
the first sleepover
when you first said, "I love you"
when I finally said, "I love you too"

I'll always remember meeting your daughter
meeting your motherand
when you first doubted our love
the trips out of town
the times you said that you loved me and meant it
the nights I slept by your side
the many days I looked forward to seeing you

I'll always remember
And sometimes all I want to do is forget
Still I remember how much I loved you
and know how much I love you still.
--"quiroz" 2004