In Her Orbit

My latest pieces

“I have survived too much to go quietly.
Let a meteor take me.
Call the thunder for back up.
My death will be grand.
The land will crack,
the sun will eat itself…

-the day I leave.” – Rupi Kuar.

Creating stardust with ink since 2005. IG: @EchoesOf.Venus

Love has always been the constant moon that orbits my world,
A gentle pull, never to depart.
I’ve had so many chances to walk on solid ground
but I rather be the other kind of girl
In its gravitational embrace I spin and spin,
A dance of souls where we may or may not win.
Bound to the light, I drift and glide,
Around your warmth, where true heart reside
floating in time
Yours and mine
In this vast endless sky, we’re lost and found—
Two stars forever in love’s orbit,
inevitably unbound.

Utterly enamored
You are
my diamond, my beau
Together we are much rarer, softer
blissfully unashamed
I’ve seen breathtaking worlds in many eyes
But there hasn’t been any thing
quite like you
I have never really known “safe”
Neither have I been truly secure in one’s arms
To become one entity during the night
and when the sun comes out from the dawn,
we reign
I see you through skin and bones
I guess I forgot what it was like to be afraid
You’ve challenged all of my defenses
This is the most peace I’ve ever had in my life
since you came.

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

My body is my home
Where my mind is free to run rampant
Dwelling vigorously,
my eternal soul
There are sturdy limbs that carry
down to the halls of my fingertips
Windows in the shape of eyes
If you look inside,
can you see the castle I have built?
I had to learn how to love myself first
before I could continue to give
Constantly in renovation
of new ways to take care
so that I am never too empty, too unkempt
too depleted, or dependent
I will never be homeless

— Take care of your home.

If I wanted to
I know how I can stop the whole world
Separating myself out-of-body
Just to become one with your every word
My own bottomless ocean of feelings…
feeling you entirely
With such unfathomable intensity
Caressing you without a single touch
I can come to you vacant
but still very much whole
so I can offer you a place to get away
And gentle reminders that keep you sane
A forbidden territory for us deeply felt kind
I find comfort in knowing that you are not alone
And not letting you forget about your soul

If I wanted to…..

It’s easy for one to hookup under the moon,
But I want you in the morning
and late afternoons.
When the sun has finished stretching
and maybe some coffee too.
Breakfast on me,
lunch on you?

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

I’m tired of grieving losses

of people who are still alive…

If you’re sad, let you be sad.
If you’re angry, be angry.
And if you feel good,
the same applies.
Nothing good comes from holding in the pain,
just like nothing good comes from not letting yourself
see the sunshine after the rain…

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

Most of it is fake
The bright lights
The crowds of people
The perfect days
And their laughter like
Nothing here is ever wrong
Like some of those stupid love songs
But we just do a good job of hiding
Behind clouds of smoke, pills, and beers
Covering our faces
Working ourselves to sleep
Being abused by our fears
Because god forbid we let ourselves feel something more
that could puts us all in even more danger out here.

Immobilizing
Drifting through time
Will it forever feel like this?
This unpredicted nothingness
Repeatedly unwanted
I can never seem to stop it
Maybe I ruin everything single thing I touch
How is it something so constant?
How easy it is to feel like dust?
And just like that you brush
me away..

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

Keep you at arms length

So that you won’t get too close

Because if not,

I just might wrap you in them.

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

I’ve found
that these walls don’t quite compare
to what I’ve built within you.
I yearn for something steady.
A constant rhythmic tune.
All I’ve ever wanted was to evolve
and grow in spaces I’ve never been,
but every step I take
reminds me of what’s still missing.
What does it mean to have everything,
when it all has no deeper meaning.
What makes a home,
if you’re not coming with me?

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

There’s a universe in me,
have you seen?
Sunlight and stardust.
Multi-galaxies.
Poetry and wanderlust.
Stellar energy.
From the tips of my fingers,
to the bottom of my feet.
I could blind the whole world
with how bright
the constellations are in me.

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

I want to feel you

Bit by bit

In all ways, always.

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

Short notes and take cares

I see you in other faces

No one else can compare

Periodic thoughts of “What if’s”

While I lose myself at night

with letters and a pen.

Sometimes I close my eyes and think

The universe must have made a terrible mistake

How could two people seem so close

And yet so far away

How can someone’s mind be so beautiful

With all that fire in their eyes

How could you be that one thing

that is not mine?

Illustration by: Fatima Seehar
Copyright 2019 Valerie Sanchez

I spent most of my life doubting everyone I ever met
Wondering if people would get close just to leave,
Betrayal and heartache followed happiness
Always wary of the monsters behind the friendly
faces reminding me of a time that I was cut so deep
A time that I once felt would be the last
I had to realize my worth
while coming to complete terms with my past
It was just a reconstruction period of my mind
along with some tougher skin that was needed for
the longevity of my life
No matter the outcome,
I have always loved
unconditionally
but when someone wants to love me back
I still find it hard to believe them
Difficulty separating genuine intentions
from those who can’t help but to use
The honest from the deceitful
The difference between me and you
So I have this history
By the way I can get close and pull back so easily..

Don‘t hold it against me.

Fall weather commence
autumns unwanted presence,
What was once a warm embrace
now altered like a cold compress
Wish it could hold on
when I say, “not yet”
but I wave summer kisses so long
the only warmth here is in my chest
The overcompensating heater
It’s not the winter I dread
but the accessory of the unwelcomed,
cold-hearted people.

Covered with burns,
blood and dirt.
I used to be so beautiful.
Since when did you become so unconcerned
with all that I have given you?
Tall sturdy trees,
Bodies of water for centuries,
But it’s been much longer
since you’ve cared about me.

When things are good,
They’re really good.
But when things are bad,
They’re really, really bad.
Such a blessing is it
to be so engaged
in the emotional aspect of things,
and to feel so deeply on this world.
But they were right about the cursed part.
The inevitable double edged sword….

I’ll take more of the good please.

After all the hurt that you’ve been through,

you somehow still manage to transform it

into all this love that you give.

What a beautiful thing

to find light in the darkest place.

What a heart

to still want to beat the same.

My stomach flipped every time someone would say,
“Things can’t be that bad” or
“It can always be worse.”
It’s like throwing salt on an open wound,
and invalidating how I feel.
Depression.
It’s not just about someone feelings sad.
And for many, it’s not perspective
that we need.
It’s empathy
and understanding.

My feelings are Valid.

My latest pieces

In My Orbit

Since You Came

Your Home

A Love Language

The Living Dead

Release you

Living in my City

Unfortunate

New Approach

My Home

Have You Seen?

Passionately, honestly

Mistaken

Don’t Hold It Against Me

Keep Warm

Mother Earth

Double Edged Sword

What A Beautiful Thing

Depression