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Isabel Alvear

This here is a Mastiff. Males can weigh up to 230 lbs. Yup. That’s like about an average 6′ 4″ male human. Or a baby Moose. Right by us is a nice strip of park we take the dogs to on daily walks. You would think that 365 days of traversing the same parts of Manhattan would become uninteresting, but you really get to understand the meaning of seasons this way. I’m not sure how our dogs perceive the changing environments, but they absolutely react to the crispness of fall diffe

Where to begin? What do you do when you feel injustice happen in front of your eyes? When you see people try and manipulate your good will right in front of you, and the look on their faces reveals lack of awareness, that moment when they realize they’re trying to gaslight you? Right then and there, what do you do? Do you say, hey—stop. Do you hear yourself being manipulative, being self-serving at this very moment? Do you realize that you’re trying to gaslight me, and I’ve c

Fiction

When I was attending university in the mid 90’s, I was introduced to rock ‘n roll, weed, and Buddhism, somewhat simultaneously. A Mexican friend of mine, who loved going by his anglicized name, George, shoved David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Prince and Queen into my consciousness. He was appalled that my Ecuadorian-Canadian upbringing had left me ignorant of an entire genre, and made fun of me about it until I was shamed into buying a bunch CD’s at Tower Records. George, along with t

Like a dead body anchored In the bottom of my belly Is where all the trauma of My Life Sits. It moves, bobbing silently Pulsating as my digestion Desperately attempts to Flush It Down. Shifting minutely Stifling my inability To lose the spare tire of Anxiety Around My belly. I can feel a new shifting The dead lump lifting up To my conscious surface I cough Outbursts Of anger And tears. The measure of vulnerability Coming up and out of me Is the cor

Disappointment. Comes from assumed behaviors and expectations of another. Comes from customs and values inferred upon others without the benefit of the same upbringing. Maybe, little boy, you were raised without a father or a mother. Did you have siblings? A sister? A brother? Other family living near? Maybe, you little man, were raised to fight to win. Protector. Defender. Maybe, you little warrior, were raised that caring, kindness, nurturing or generosity will come eventua