“Don’t Make a Spectacle of Yourself”
Let's workshop this poem about a man with AIDS who, after being told to cover up at a motel pool, questions his lover as to the point of continuing with a life of small pleasures
“Don’t Make a Spectacle of Yourself”
KS lesions purpling most of the gaunt man,
a panicky manager demands that he shirt up
so as not to frighten the other motel guests.
The man asks his lover, haggard as well there
on the poolside beach chair, face worm-woven,
what the point of going on like this is—
movie nights, massages, shopping, haircuts.
“What you don’t seem to see,” the lover says,
“is that your question—it applies to all of us.”
This poem is unpublished
Photo: wbiw.com/2022/08/04/kinsey-institute-to-exhibit-iconic-tom-fox-photo-series-renew-hiv-aids-awareness/