Regina Avendaño

The great waste picker

Did I ever show you the unattached pause between confession? The prayer migrained from a child tugging it left, then right. You tell me the child is someone you knew, and I resist the urge to say: what a small world. Any day now I’m going to wake up angry enough to haunt you. Drink the battery spill from a wine glass.  But when our friends started dying, you made a point to reach out. Said: I’m glad it wasn’t you. Said if they can fit an ocean into a headline, then surely you can find a way to touch it. To jump into the caves and find something singing. Whether or not you know what a note is.

Write with us. Learn with us. Publish with us.
Join a growing community of poets & readers.
Early access to calls, workshops, and updates.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
No spam. No ads. No data-selling. Unsubscribe anytime.
MEMBERSHIP PORTAL    |    FAQ   |    SUBMIT
2025 ONLY INK, Inc. All rights reserved.
ONLY POEMS®️ and associated marks are trademarks of ONLY INK, Inc. All individual works are copyrighted by their respective authors. All poems, essays, and artworks published on this site remain the intellectual property of their creators and may not be reproduced without explicit permission. The views expressed in published works are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ONLY INK, Inc., its editors, or affiliated entities. While many works draw on lived experience, they may contain fictionalized elements; no reference to any real person is intended or should be inferred. ONLY POEMS is an ad-free, independent, reader-supported publication.