April was National Poetry Month in the U.S., so TheBody.com collected reader submissions of poetry about living with, or being affected by, HIV/AIDS. You can read, enjoy and comment on all the poems here. Thanks to everybody who submitted!
Poems From Our Readers
- A Poem by Dennis (posted May 25)
"I am myth / I am legend / I am lover and I am loved / I am perfect as I am"
- A Poem by Chad (posted May 25)
"Oh my wasted face! / do you scare people on the street / or just me?"
- A Poem by D (posted May 18)
"We will fight for hope / and hope for life / there will be no surrender / in the fight for life"
- Two Poems by atlanticman (posted May 18)
"I said I'm positive without moving / He recoiled / I said Coward He said / What do I have to be brave for Is this some kind of a test I said"
- A Poem by DJ (posted May 17)
"Waiting for the time, and waiting to reveal, / as I live on hoping to survive what seems so unreal."
- A Poem by Tamia (posted May 16)
"Oh, virus, let me live / Let me raise my children / Let me give them all that I did not have / Oh let me live"
- A Poem by Jill (posted May 12)
"Bryan was a normal kid / Up for having good times / Had no idea what he was getting into / Only showed healthy signs"
- A Poem by Charlie G. (posted May 12)
"Time to speak out every day / Time to spread information everywhere / Time to stoke the fires and bring back the drive, / the push, the dissatisfaction with the status quo of longer lives."
- A Poem by Donald (posted May 2)
"We shared our symptoms and our sympathies and spoke of philosophies as remedies. / We exposed our fears and our vanities while revealing our proclivities and disclaiming our tendencies."
- A Poem by Paul (posted April 27)
"But with my walk / A newfound memory to last / Like a line cast from the past / but I am right here, right now"
- A Poem by njpozdad (posted April 22)
"Then one day someone opened my eyes / Gave me hope, gave me love / Kindle / Stir / Ignite"
- A Poem by GaryG (posted April 21)
"But hard as we tried /and much as we loved you / and as smart and as strong as you tried to hold on / The medicine came / just a little bit too late."
- A Poem by Gisele (posted April 21)
"These feet have already left, / I can feel it in my chest; these / lips want to smile the day away."
- A Poem by T (posted April 20)
"Living this way can be quite the trial / In the closet and yet not / Hypocrisy, duality, secrecy, denial / It's really such a tough shot"
- A Poem by Anonymous (posted April 20)
"Imagine teachers with no school kids / and school kids with no teachers. / Imagine parents with no families / and families with no parents."
- A Poem by Greg (posted April 15)
"Maybe I can do this after all, / maybe it is as simple / as putting one foot in front of the other."
- A Poem by Frank (posted April 13)
"I control this war you wage. / I will fight you till my last. / You will not take me easily. / Not while I still stand."
- A Poem by Chad (posted April 11)
"Don't tell me I can't / because I will. / Don't tell me my limits / because I have none."
- A Poem by Justin (posted April 7)
"He said his test had come out OK, / it's hard to believe people lie, / even today."
- A Poem by Brooke Davidoff (posted April 7)
"LIFE / doesn't end with a diagnosis / a new life can begin there"
- Three Poems by Darris Willis (posted April 1)
"Do you hide yours? / Like most of the world? / Do you not mention it? / Ignore its ache?"
This article was provided by TheBody.com. 
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