An embroidered phoenix
from a yellow and orange flame
rising up
born again.
I was so sick before drug combos
when the story was
“people with AIDS died.”
But I am changing that story.
Given up for dead
on palliative care,
somehow I pulled through-
don’t know why or how.
A friend embroidered this phoenix,
rising from the flames
of loss
and stigma.
It’s been 20 years.
HIV is not a curse –
it allows me to
understand a little deeper.
I’m pretty happy right now,
happy to be healthy;
no matter what,
it’s pretty amazing.