AIDS Posters

The gay Asian men hold

condoms on their fingers

like gloves.

The transgendered female

talks about her

prostitution.

 

I just want to get to class

I'm not concerned with f*****g just yet

I just want to get to class

 

Is it possible not to get AIDS?

I want to ask the gentlemen of the world -

Is there a test that's really sure?

I want to ask the homosexuals of the world...

 

I read one of the "true life" posters

waiting in the subway car

 

She thinks - "He'll tell me if he's positive."

He's in a special circle

a clique.

He thinks she knows by the necklace around his neck -

the clue.

He thinks - "She'll tell me if she's negative."

 

To add insult to injury,

she faked it.

Reviews

[yinseriv]

There is a two dimensional bleakness to this poem from the title to the ending which gives it power. The reality that catastrophic situations are reduced to glossy posters and buzz phrases takes away from the reality of the situation. I don't need to see the wasted frame struggling to open 5 bottles of medicene. I don't have to smell the stench of dead Darfur children. I can just avert my eyes from the glossy and fake it.

Good poem and a brave topic. Thank you.