Yesika Salgado is responsible for making "badass" and "poet" completely synonymous. She's a symbol of loving yourself fiercely. She's an unstoppable presence in the slam poetry scene, and the most striking thing about her work is how unabashedly honest it is while containing the power of a warrior. Salgado's strength comes from her willingness to be a voice for our deepest insecurities. We all have days when we feel unworthy of love, and it's hard to admit that. Consequently, it rarely gets talked about. We're too busy pretending our lives are perfect. Salgado irons out all those ugly feelings for us with her signature sexy style of poetry. Her work shows us how to forge the poison of our insecurities into a bulletproof vest so that we can fight back.
Salgado writes about love, heartbreak, sex, body positivity, misogyny, and her Salvadoran community and culture. She has written three collections (The Luna Poems, Woes, and Sentimental Boss B*tch). Her popular Instagram is also regularly updated with new poems.
your cousin, that you still call baby,
who shamed a woman for owning her body
asked you, the last time he was over,
"what were you trying to do with all things you post on Instagram? What's your point?"
you don't remember your answer
but you wish you had pointed at
the girl with her short hair
the one that loves him despite the hurt
and told him:
"I'm trying to show her she doesn't need you"
— excerpt from "Machismo Comes Over For Dinner" by Yesika Salgado
