Dom Root

Oct 15, 20182 min

Stories Differ

Let us live, before we die
 

 
There is a great deal of beauty in life
 

 
and trauma resting in juxtaposition,
 

 
each new morning, we hope for better
 

 
than we were served before.
 

 
And so what, that we can not control these truths fully
 

 
and when they'll occur to us,
 

 
we atleast get the odds
 

 
and we can control our reactions,
 

 
a little better than we can control our feelings,
 

 
we can protect ourselves,
 

 
by researching the causes,
 

 
and not everything will go as planned,
 

 
because HIV is a silent but deadly
 

 
one night can change a whole life
 

 
and it could be months before
 

 
you learn whats wrong
 

 
and years of work
 

 
trying to make it right
 

 
and it may never be right
 

 
and so we know
 

 
nobody is perfect
 

 
and there's mostly nothing
 

 
that anyone can do
 

 
to avoid the things
 

 
they aren't aware of
 

 
cause 1 in 16 black men
 

 
end up diagnosed
 

 
with HIV...
 

 
and each of those men
 

 
have stories of how it happen
 

 
and
 

 
what they know now
 

 
that they did not before
 

 
how sex unprotected,
 

 
or the shared use off needle injections,
 

 
could put a whole life at risk and
 

 
infect a mother with a virus
 

 
that she may pass down to her kid,
 

 
so she feels void and knows void,
 

 
reflecting on her course
 

 
and the moments she was tested
 

 
attempting to taste lifes most
 

 
sensational beauties,
 

 
exposed to infiltration,
 

 
how now do they describe faith,
 

 
checking boxes,
 

 
With the stats stacked in opposition
 

 
strive for a new tradition, when we talk about health in the Black Community
 

 
lets implement a better way of communicating imperfections
 

 
and passing down the lessons
 

 
learned through trial and error,
 

 
and let go of the obsession
 

 
that you are better than anyone else
 

 
cause 1 in 32 Black women end up diagnosed
 

 
as well.
 

 
invited by temptation.
 

 
Either intimidated or content amid the what ifs,
 

 
theres not always bliss served with ignorance
 

 
its important to know your status,
 

 
to know your options,
 

 
to keep up treatment,
 

 
practice precautions,
 

 
some communities may make
 

 
it feel like taboo,
 

 
like theres something wrong with
 

 
accepting your truths
 

 
but dont let the opinions of the world,
 

 
consume you
 

 
even if they assume
 

 
or what they presume
 

 
begins to agitate you
 

 
youve got one life
 

 
and that, you have to live for you!
 

 
make time for the things that you value
 

 
and decide who you are going to be
 

 
in times of beauty and most importantly
 

 
during the more traumatic scenes,
 

 
cause it could happen to you or someone you love, and youll want to give up,
 

 
or isolate yourself, because you don't know
 

 
how to respond, so take time now
 

 
to stay informed..

(HIV Awareness Contest Submission) by Dom Root

#hiv #awareness #poetry