Morirvivir
The Flower of Bitter gourd, native of Africa and Asia. Via
Aruna Radhakrishnan/Flickr
Written By: Liner Nuñez
I am a holder and carrier of stories.
I am supposed to remember and keep our words and memories alive.
We are the sensitive souls, the ones who feel as if we have no skin.
Like our nerve endings have nerve endings and our only remedy is to remember
even when we do not want to.
The morirvivirs I call us,
between the alive and the dead , outside of them.
Our petals protecting our souls when touched.
I am from dad who never knew softness, and brother who killed, un soldado, men.
I am from mom who only knows softness, and sister who kills, una guerrera, women.
Women who could hear me speak in silence when
I forgot the timbre in my voice.
Who kept the timbre of my voice
A paper.
I feel flowers growing at the pit of my stomach,
Flowers growing under my ribs,
But these stories do not always feel like flowers.
Some choke me, some hold me, and writing feels like I’m drinking un cafecito
bitterly calming.
Liner Nuñez is a queer AfroLatina from the Dominican Republic. Holding a B.A. in Gender Studies, she spends her time transforming silence into action. As an act of interrupting and undoing gender based violence, her site is dedicated to nurturing one’s niña interior. Liner’s most powerful actions of resistance are in the development and facilitation of healing circles and individual counseling, specifically for women of color who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
