The way my friend whispered the word Aids
by John McKernan


The way my friend whispered the word Aids

_____________left no doubt, I know when I'm not
reading fiction I can be persuaded to stop

Joking I stash my cheap read
The Dance of the Happy Hedonist
traveling at the speed of silence

The prayers rising in the darkness
whisper for more light
more color with less knowledge and irony
Anything more than calm lies

"It's wild" the doctor whispered
"The sentences I say
have the power to move mountains
yet some people will not even blink or twitch
when I tell them "You are going to die"






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