I never thought someone like me could write a poetry book. By someone like me, I mean first generation Dominican American who comes from a family who did not have much appreciation for literature. Language for me has always been a big struggle. Growing up in a bilingual household where the Spanish spoken often was perceived as “campesino,” made me feel like I didn’t have the tools to correctly express myself. But I used this as my fuel to polish what I had and make it into art. The purpose of “Beneath My Skin” is to help empower other Brown Queer boys to demonstrate that there is value in our stories and that we matter. I hope this poetry book teaches our Brown Queers boys to celebrate themselves and know that they are worthy of love. I want them to feel seen and represented in a world that often tries to silence us. At times, I felt that my story was not anything special, that maybe no one would care to read about it, but at the end of the day the person who needed to listen felt every word. That person is ME 🫂🤎 #BeneathMySkin