By Lisbeth Coiman
Know that crowds will cheer your decision
Will shout words of encouragement from the sidewalk
Know that any well thought-out plan
Will blow with the clouds in the Santa Ana winds
Know that working weeks have more than 80 hours
And only one wallet will open at the grocery store
Know that you don’t qualify for grants or subsidies
Because 80 hours a week income is enough
Know that a stove, a phone, a tire, and the windshield wiper can all break
On the same week you must pay car insurance
Know that poetry and zoom meetings on a broken screen
Produce throbbing headaches
Know that union fees could easily pay for a new computer
But you’ll never cross the picket line
Know that there are phone services for $20
Discounts for gas, electric, and insurance during the pandemic
Know that you will consider questionable sources of income
But you will decide to rent a room instead
Know that if you move
IRS might misplace your stimulus check
Know that submissions, workshops, books, and literary events
Can become luxury items on a limited budget
Know that your feet will hold you
Know that you will write anyway
Lisbeth Coiman is an author, poet, educator, cultural worker, and rezandera born in Venezuela. Coiman’s wanderlust spirit landed her to three countries—from her birthplace to Canada, and finally the USA, where she self-published her first book, I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir (2017). Her poetry and personal essays are featured in the online publications: La Bloga, EntropyAcentos Review, Lady/Liberty/Lit,Nailed,Hip Mama Magazine, Rabid Oaks,Cultural Weekly, and Resonancias Literarias. In print media Spectrum v.16, The Altadena Literary Review, and Accolades: A Women Who Submit Anthology. An avid hiker, and teacher of English as a Second Language, Coiman lives in Los Angeles, CA.