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A Poem by Khafre Abif

April 2012

Khafre Abif is one of TheBody.com's bloggers. Check out his blog, Freedom Rider, where he writes about his experiences being an AIDS activist and living with HIV for 22 years.


I, Too, Know What I Am Not

No, I am not
waiting for death to arrive,
No, I am not
living my life in silence,
No, I am not
going to let nobody tell me my life has no value,
No, I am not
going to let my life be marginalized
No, I am not
going to let the noise of stigma and shame shape me,
No, I am not
going to let this society cast me aside
No, I am not
going to let fear quiet my story,
No, I am not
going to let isolation overshadow me,
No, I am not
going to let ignorance speak for me,
No, I am not
going to let anyone name me,
No, I am not
anything that is anything that I am not,
No, I am not



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