A Poem by Ximena Izquierdo Ugaz

Author: Poetry Editor

April 17, 2019

This week, a poem by Ximena Izquierdo Ugaz.

 

SELF PORTRAIT AT 26

 

I wake up and feed the cats
I worry about the size of my belly
only for a moment

I’m torn between going for a run with my faja
or being body positive towards myself

Maybe they’re not mutually exclusive

It’s also too cold for a run, in my opinion

I brush my eyelashes and blink a few times in the mirror

I feel very un-American

Sometimes it’s easier to avoid the hard things about yourself
Like how much United States has rubbed off on you in 17 years

That’s a long time

I was born in the summer but it’s always winter here on my birthday

——

XIMENA IZQUIERDO UGAZ is a multimedia artist, curator, and educator born in Lima, Perú. Izquierdo Ugaz is the author of the self-published Standing in the Bathroom in the Dark Thinking About Green and El Mismo Pozo/The Same Well. Her work has appeared in FEELINGS and her first chapbook is titled Estoy Tristeza (No, Dear Magazine & Small Anchor Press, 2018). You can follow her at @huacatayy.