Grenade at My Feet: How I Overcame Life's Worst Challenges

By Wilfredo Gomez

I was given the gift of writing poetry when my mother passed away on June 27th 2004. As she had her last breath, she passed the gift on to me. My inspirations to start telling my life story through poetry began. My interest in poetry increased once I realized I obtained the same talent as my cousin Miguel Pinero. He was a great playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Caf; he was the writer of the play Short Eyes and was nominated New York Critics Circle Award, Obie Award and Drama Desk Award. Through my poems, I tell my story of early child abuse, witnessing domestic violence towards my mother, depression leading to drug abuse and my struggle staying away from abusing drugs and alcohol. Also, I express my feelings towards my wifes life struggle, and supporting the LGBT Community. I wanted to put my story out there and show others that giving up and being defeated by obstacles is not the way to go. Keep fighting and overcome every bad situation being thrown.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503547346

Wilfredo Gomez

My name is Wilfredo Gomez. I am a fifty-seven-year-old Hispanic who was inspired to write poetry. Soon after the death of my mother on June 27, 2004, as I stood by her side, I leaned in to give her one last kiss and that was when she released her last breath into me, not knowing that she blessed me with the gift of poetry. The next day, I cried out beautiful words. From then on, I continued to discover more poetry within me, soon after discovering the great poet Miguel Pinero, and my cousin, a playwright who wrote a movie called “Short Eyes.” He also wrote many books that inspired me to write about true life experiences that have happened in my life. In my younger years, I have experienced child abuse, witnessed domestic violence with my mom, later in life fell into drug abuse and alcoholism. I am still battling after nineteen years of being clean. I have written many poems, one of them is “My Little Rock” and that one was based on the time I was on drugs. I learned about walls as an abused child, walking down the street hip hop rap, nursery rhymes, school of life and jungle of stone, etc. Also, I have written poems about my wife and her struggles. I come from a large family of eleven; I am the third among seven boys and have four sisters.one sister that live in Florida Feli Piedrahita. I am a father of three beautiful girls—my eldest is named Clara Benitez, followed by Lizmarie Gomez and Yadira Gomez. I also have four beautiful stepdaughters: Julia Nieves, Jenny Nieves, Mari Gonzalez, and Olga Nieves. I’ve lived on the west side of Manhattan, was forced to move to Brooklyn to get away from the man that was very abusive to my loving mother, but he somehow always found a way back to continue the abuses, until that one faithful day that stopped it all.

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Copyright © 2015 by Wilfredo Gomez.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5035-4735-3

                eBook          978-1-5035-4734-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 03/13/2015

Xlibris

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Contents

Acknowledgements

A Tribute to My Mom

My World Started To Tune

I Come To Realize

My Street

Window

Jungle of Stone!

Colors

Control

Imaginary

Me

The Gift

My School of Life

My Little Magic Rock

Shadow … a True Story

Yesterday

Wall and Pain

Come to Me

Mirror

My Poems and My Rhymes

Never Falling

Trap

Without You

A Tribute to My Mother

Let Me Go

Letting Go

Can’t Take It Anymore

Part of Nothing

Acknowledgements

I would like to show my appreciation to my comay Lisa Ramos, Milwood Huches, a driver at Auto Star, Mr. Ramirez, Richie’s Auto Clinic 1795 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn NY 11208, Cisco from GB and Dean from Auto Star in Williamsburg, John of Auto Star, and my wife Sendia Gomez.

I would also like to show my appreciation to those who contributed toward the funds to help me publish my book. Here are the companies’ names: Cypress Hill Wheel Alignment at 2641 Fulton Street, Brooklyn NY 11207, Sal’s Tires at 3002 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn NY 11208; Atlantic Service and Repairs Inc. at 1558 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn NY 11213; Action Auto Body at 650 Cozine Ave., Brooklyn NY 11208; Fixed Right Auto at 3394 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn NY 11208; and Precision Transmission at 1452-1460 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn NY 11216.

Yours truly,

Wilfredo Gomez

Tomorrow my poems will be mail out also would like to thank Cisco from GB and Dean from Kenneth Benitez

A Tribute to My Mom

Soon that day, that day is about to arrive

That special day,

That day is more special than anything and any way.

It is more special than the United Nations.

This special day is my foundation

This foundation that kept us strong, that kept us together,

that kept us alive.

This foundation is like a building to me,

A building with a whole bunch of tenants,

Even though we forget to pay the rent,

This foundation will never let us go or ever turn her back on us.

This foundation stood strong

Even though most of the tenants vacated this foundation and

Went on their