Poems From The Kitchen Table

I’m a poet at heart, even when I’m not writing… A lifelong seeker of meaning hidden in everyday life.

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1987, back when the country still danced with democracy. I’m the third of four siblings, raised by middle-class parents who taught me to work hard, dream freely, and pay close attention to the world around me. At 19, I came to California for what was meant to be a one-year experience and never left. That journey changed the course of my life.

Today, I live in San Mateo, California. I’m a mother to a bright and beautiful little boy named Henry, married to my kind and curious husband since 2015, and forever in love with words.

I write poetry because it helps me breathe. My poems and stories often begin at my kitchen table, between sips of coffee and the softness of ordinary moments. I write about love, loss, memory, motherhood, identity, and the quiet truths that shape us. Some pieces are autobiographical. Others are imagined. All of them are emotionally true.

This space is where I collect those pieces. Thank you for reading. I hope something here speaks gently to your own story.

— Valentina