Book review: Imperfecta
⭐5/5: Imperfecta, Alejandra Ramos Gómez
TW for this review: Femicides, gender violence, PTSD.
Soy mujer de luz. Soy mujer de cambio. Soy mujer de revolución.
Imperfecta is a bilingual poetry book including poems, dialogues, and meditations describing the experiences of women as mujeres, friends, Latinas, and immigrants. The book was inspired by "a lifetime of feeling more, in infinite moments without fitting in" and was dedicated to the victims of femicide in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.
Ramos Gómez has a powerful yet flowy voice that delivers moving verses with poignant words that invite reflection. Her bilingual poetry reminded me of the machinations our creative self goes through after the diaspora that naturally comes with immigration.
I sat with this book for hours and finished it in one sitting. I had planned to enjoy it along with my morning meditations, like little tidbits of emotion to accompany me through my day. But once I started reading the flowy verses with a familiar and refreshing rhythm, I found I couldn't stop. "One more poem" became the mantra I had while going through the pages of Imperfecta. The beautiful lines weren't the only things that kept me tethered to this book. It was also the quiet and nostalgic reflection of myself I found with each passing dialogue.
I don't speak much about the other side of my life in Mexico on this platform. Most of the memories I share of my life back in Juarez are happy ones, but I'd be doing 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢 a disservice if I didn't declare every other memory of Juarez is tainted by violence. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I still carry the bad omens from my life on the border: the tight fear that grips at my chest when an Explorer with tinted windows drives by; the hallow layer of grief at another story of gun violence; the unanswered question of Natalia, who sat at the back of my class and one day, didn't make it back.
Imperfecta arrived at the perfect time. I'm working through healing myself from the dark memories of my teenage years and reading through these poems served as a reminder: "it's okay to not be okay". Thank you to Alejandra for putting her work into my hands and aiding my journey to wellness.