Cilantro y Cafe

Marcela FrtCvr2

6x9 paperback, 60 pages.

Cilantro y Café depicts a piece of Marcela's journey as a Colombian-American female in her twenties and explores themes of heartbreak, depression, cultural identity, introspection, and social awareness. This debut poetry book documents the beauty and chaos of life by using quirky settings and chilling emotional imagery.

Get Lit With Literature - interview with Marcela and she reads a few poems
25 minutes

SUMMER

the sunflower fell in love with the sun,
the way the warmth kissed her skin
and made her dance again

CILANTRO Y CAFÉ

The smell of cilantro
reminds me of home
and of the voices
that inspire me

eat cilantro to make you sleepy
and drink coffee to wake you up

a cocktail of aromas and sensations—
c r o s s e d at lunch
with my abuelo and tiÌa.

Do they cancel each other out,
like the stench of sewer water
and fresh laundry in a busy city
on a summer’s day?

cilantro y café

they bring back
the memory of home
to my lips as they simmer
in unison on my tongue

if I blend them
and form a cohesive paste,
can I come home?

INDOOR SKYDIVING

I want to carve my way into the world
like a man could in the 19th century.
They carved like beavers hungry for wood,
like farmers at the start of the agricultural revolution,
hungry for wheat — hungry for power.

But they didn’t know they were creating
whole worlds in their bubbles
while snubbing the rest of the bubble keepers.
The snubbers were hungry for a safe thrill,
like indoor skydiving
(some of the thrill, none of the danger).

Why do we thrill safely
when we know full well
that our black and blue bruises
and our red and pink burns
and our bloody hearts
tell the story of a life well-lived?

Us snubbers of the outside world,
wrinkle in time, bend and break in time,
and yet we continue to indoor skydive,
fearful of an authentic thrill.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marcela Ossa is a Colombian American multi-disciplinary artist – a poet, singer, actor, and visual artist with an immense passion for the expression of human emotion through art. Some of her favorite poets and greatest influences include, T.S. Eliot, Sabrina Benaim, Michael Faudet, Reyna Biddy, Pablo Neruda, Rupi Kaur, Vera Pavlova, Emily Dickinson, and Joyce Carol Oates, to name a few. Marcela has had a love for books ever since she can remember and found a love for poetry along the way. In addition to being an artist, they are an activist, yogi, rock climber, a sibling, daughter, partner, and friend. She loves our Madre Tierra and animals and a good laugh.

Website: MarcelaOssa.com
Instagram: @marcelaossago