1) I turn to my mother sweating over the assembly line wondering if she’ll have enough money to make rent

–there’s some kind of vulnerability and ah ah ah strength to keep going or maybe an acceptance of who we are

2) I turn to my father showing me how to use the bathroom so I wouldn’t spray on the floor

–A boy becomes man a man becomes a name a name becomes a representation and so

3) I turn to the drawing I drew in third grade to impress a cartoonist that was visiting

–an impression? hahahaha? Do I even know how to impress myself?

4) I turn to Olivia Benson and Dr. George Huang on Law and Order: SVU

–They have helped me understand things about myself and I love BD WONG

5) I turn to old black and white movies because I enjoy how simply they were

–a like poetry to be simple without big words or big ideas a poem about an peeling an orange or opening the door of an apartment is OK with me

6) I turn to bootleg copies of Spiderman and Scooby-Doo: The Movie on the same VHS

–childhood leaves an impression on me. I wonder if adulthood will too?

7) I turn to my sister hiding the remote control from me and blasting Britney Spears

–fight, debate, conflict, war, tension, something that brings us closer to the earth and its inhabitants

8) I turn to the day I decided to stop going to TaeKwonDo and disappointed my dad

–I never made it past yellow belt my dad and my sister are both Nth degree black belts and maybe because I am the boy I disappointed my dad even more. That look.

9) I turn to El Chavo Del Ocho

–Significa Peligro! Chusma, Chusma! Mi tesoro! my dad’s apodo fue quico and my uncle’s was chesperito. NO ME SIMPATIZAS!

10) Che y Chela y Chepe y Chi Chi y -ito

–nicknames mean a lot where I come from