Why I Walk
I walk for Juanita
She did not ask me to.
In fact, I’m sure she’d rather I didn’t
No, she’s not ashamed
She’s just wishes a walk wasn’t necessary
She is not nasty
You can touch her
You can kiss her
You can breathe the air she exhales
It is not poisonous
She loves politics but hates politicians
She is beautiful
She is kind
She’s the kind of woman that would give to you
and say, “I’ll try to see if I can get you some more”.
She was a heavy drinker
She is sober now
She did not choose mates well, save, for my father
She paid for that many times before her diagnosis
I cursed God, the day it happened.
She did not deserve this
This is a woman who slept with me
This is a woman who slept with men for me
This is a woman.
A woman’s woman and a real mother
So I walk
I walk for Juanita
I walk for sons like me
I walk because she always told me to keep on keepin on.
I walk because this disease is a bitch and a bastard that must be stopped
I walk because I’m angry
I walk because she taught me to walk
I walk because she taught me well.
I walk hoping no one else falls.
That’s why I walk.
(Support AIDS Walk New York, May 12, 2010, Central Park)
