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[ POEM ]
Being the big brother is scary.
Fear and anxiety live rumpled up
and tucked into fresh, slim-jean pockets,
right
along
with
the ever-present possibility
of disappointing
the most important people in my life.
In some way, and somehow,
in my paranoid mind
any and every choice I make
could decide
whether
I’ll see a role model, or a loser
looking
back at me,
in the reflection of your eyes, tomorrow.
Though not requested, as the oldest,
I made it my burden in 1993
to be responsible
and watch over you
WEIRDOS
like you were my own kids. …
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POETRY
I’ve always been very romantic when it comes to life and love. Though the romantic filter is still visible today, I’ve learned so much over the last decade that has carried over into my writing style.
Encompassing a critical period of “self-evolution”, this collection of older work below begins with a poem to myself from the present, before it rewinds for a glimpse inside the young mind of a starry-eyed boy as he matures into an adult. These are the stories of a younger me.
Welcome to my world, and thank you always for reading. ✌🏽👨🏽🚀
Lover Boy in Space
Joshua Muñoz
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PROLOGUE
I read, probably, about a billion books as a kid. Books connected to an imagination like mine were literally epic 4K movies in my head. I would get absolutely lost in basically a never-ending supply of impossible worlds and adventures (the library). Those endless stories shaped my creative and curious lens at an early age.
Despite poetry being my medium of preference, story-telling is in the DNA of all my writing. The reason I love poetry so much is because, as readers, we get to visit infinite worlds, peeking ever so briefly into little pieces of others’ lives and…
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A POEM
🎵Aura suggestion: “Chihiro” (Catching Flies Remix) by Yoste
Hey,
I’m sorry
for sounding so generic,
and repetitive—
but
it’s me again. Two inches less than
5’10", black hair, brown eyes,
striding around my planet real
chill-like, meanwhile
my cranial jukebox
up top jankily
bounces and bangs. Day,
night,
and morn,
to my perturbed dismay,
the noise comes and it goes,
every voice, my own,
volume up, volume down,
A BROKEN RECORD
spinning and playing as we speak,
just me
questioning me, about
every fucking
thing
of everything,
forever
and ever
—and ever, it’d seem . . .
Chin up, though.
Such a pretty soul, Mr. Mirror—
for what…
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A POEM.
🎵Aura suggestion: “Awaken” by Big Wild
Life is a simile—
sometimes sour,
and sometimes sweet,
like eating a box of Sour Patch Kids,
oh, so much juicy pleasure and pain -
pop
pop
pop
pop
- to the bottom of the box,
never knowing what flavor, or color,
we’ll get next.
Life, literally, sprints
like the microwave clock in my kitchen
on days off—morning, noon, boom,
evening. Tomorrow’s door is constantly
opened and closed,
opened and closed, the contents:
usually hot, or tepid,
but at times un-bearably cold, too.
So, a warm reminder,
to give it
t i m e ,
after bad days
—while the good ones thaw…
(Image by author.)
A POEM
🎵Aura suggestion: notice by Berthold
Tonight,
rivers
flow into rivers,
flowing into waterfalls, falling into rivers,
flowing into
oceans
of endless, unfiltered love for you.
You are the moon, and I, the captive tide,
rising to the pull of your crescent lips,
drunk on their luscious gravity
and
summer night spirits.
Lover Boy in Space
Joshua Muñoz
ig: loverboyinspace.poetry
Welcome to my world, and thank you for reading. 👨🏽🚀
(Photo by author.)
A POEM/MINI-STORY
🎵Aura suggestion: “Jet Lag” by Ivy Lab
Earth resembled a giant,
blue and green
ball of yarn, as the spaceship approached.
Little space-kitty stared out the glass window
curiously,
while her cute little tail playfully twitched.
Soon, the smell of nature’s salty fish tank—
(along with sweet, SWEET solar heat)—
permeated the cardboard walls,
as
she prepared to descend.
The boxy spacecraft cascaded down from way
above the clouds,
with grace and finesse.
A purring hum sliced through the air as it flew,
until it eventually landed in
a lush green yard,
where a little boy was sitting alone, eating.
The boy looked up sad, at first…
Song: “Moody” by Maye
I’m very proud of this project me and my girlfriend did at home. It was actually a random idea I’ve wanted to do for awhile now. The song is one of her favorites, so we had a blast with it. Thank you as always for visiting my world, and I hope you enjoy! (:
ALSO #SAMSUNGGANG: THIS WAS SHOT ON MY SAMSUNG S20+.
Lover Boy in Space
Joshua Muñoz
ig: loverboyinspace.poetry
Sorry, I’m so slow on reading and responding recently. I know myself in terms of what I can handle before I burn out, so I try and balance everything to avoid that point. I’ve been super focused on staying active with my writing, spending time with my loved ones, a random music video project I’m doing for fun, and also relaxing. I appreciate you all!
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POETRY PROMPT: DAY 12 OF 30
🎵Aura suggestion: “Shiver” by Marley Caroll
Ninth grade was hard.
It felt like there were all these preset paths
I was trying to balance simultaneously,
then gosh damn calamity struck
when they all collided,
leaving a classic cartoon KABOOM!
with the big gray cloud
of smoke and debris, and a
broken
little boy
lost
inside.
Pressures of academics and
ruthless
social codes consumed my heart and mind,
as I navigated a
world which had suddenly become
new to me, and whose complexity
seemed to
multiply overnight. …
