x-posted.

Ibyang Muñeca

They called her “Ibyang Muñeca,”

“China Doll from the Midway"

and like a thousand other monikers

she’d answer to

drunk with friends that she adopted,

made a family out of strangers--

knew her core but like two of them knew her name.

Tough lover and a Turf Club regular,

slammed every door decisively--

some function of her nature--

and danced out loud to car alarms,

bathed in sweat or rain

twisted fluently, twisted fluency

when gawkers gawked--

“out-of-town-tourist-trash,” she’s sing.

Loved it when people asked her

“where you from?”

told them “like a million different places,

depending on the day--

wouldn’t recommend Wyoming

but you knew that already.”

Flew her independent nation flag

without it being stupid bangs,

esoteric ink, piercings, or pulled together poetry--

told me I was dumb to look for meaning in her laugh lines.