Aryeka Lal

“I still wake longing for your touch
Skin open wound raw
because I was told
that's the only way to heal.
I couldn't tame you
you weren't meant for domestication
meant to roam free
but I still remember
the first time you said "I love you"
a whisper barely audible
afraid of choking on your words
or mine
you preferred me voiceless
blank stare submissive
swallowing back years of lost time
waiting for you to change.”
― Nancy Arroyo Ruffin, Letters to My Daughter: A collection of short stories and poems about Love, Pride, and Identity

“Leaves will fall, cold will creep in
A circle of life that ends where it begins
It may take a thousand years and a thousand poems penned
But my hair will someday gray and my back will bend—
Then my shadow will join my body in the earth once again.

I know not the way, or even the when
Or who chooses that day we’re called away to ascend
But you bathed me in your bravery and forgave me my sins
You made a home in your heart for mine to live in—
And in return, my friend, this poem is my oath that a river of love will run through it until the very end.”
― Ryan Winfield, State of Nature

“A meeting of the hearts of two Gemini has been known to end with explosive results, Mr Holloway.”
― (Jem) J.A. Belfield , Instinct

“The best thing parents can do for their children is allow them to be who they were born to be.”
― Nancy Arroyo Ruffin