My friend Todd died.
It is as simple as these words.
What he left behind is not that simple. Unique person
he was.
What he was
will never be. Life was in every nerve
and in every cell of his body
and he loved every minute of it. Prognosis was AIDS!
And that good looking, young man full of life
was consumed by it.
And within a year
Todd left this world. Leaving relatives and friends
with millions of questions.
Why? Why Todd? Why so young?
Why AIDS? Why was he gay? Science has its theories
Psychology has its answers
but nobody knows for certain.
AIDS is AIDS and it does not discriminate. There is a lost link
in this conflicted subject,
and this is the human element. I only remember Todd
the person,
my friend,
and that's the way I
will always remember him.
With his small bright blue eyes
and that big smile on his face
that gave him dimples on his cheeks. And god . . . do not let me
pass judgment
of what I cannot understand
or of what I do not know . . .