2nd Peace as a Global Language Conference Proceedings & Supplement

and i dance slowly: the aids poem

a               i               d               s

and				i				dance 			slowly
and 			i				drift			slowly
abandoned		in				deep			spaces
alone,			isolated,		defenseless,	separated,
and				incidentally	dying.	

always			interminable	doctors,		some
armed with		innovative		drugs,			some
also			into			diets			strange
and 			insidious,		desperately		searching,
attempting		impossible		defense			strategies,
and 			imagining		discoveries		succeeding.

am				i				dismissed		simply
as an			instrument of	death?			society,
angered, 		is				devoid of		sympathy, un-
able to			ignore			deliberately	such
an				intensely		damning			scandal.
awareness		is				dismissed.		some,
are				(indeed,		determinedly)	sure
about			immoral			damnation, 		suggesting
any				intervention of	divine	or		spiritual
authority		implies a		denial of		salvation.

although		i				donÕt 			see
any 			illness,		death			smiles.
aware	that	iÕm				downward-		spiraling
against			incurable 		disease,		surely
all				involvement		dwindles.		surrounded by
answers			incomplete,		drama			slips
away			into a			dream of		savage
awesome			images,			defying		`   sacrifice.

and				i				dance 			slowly
and 			i				drift			slowly
abandoned		in				deep			spaces
alone,			isolated,		defenseless,	separated,

and 			i				donÕt			see

           				 why.        

- Sarah Winslow (Oct. 2000) --


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