"I’M TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD and I’m from St. Louis, Missouri. . . It all started when
I turned sixteen. That is when I got my HIV diagnosis. . . I was a junior in high school. When my mother found out I was HIV positive, she instantly started crying. It was hard because she would never talk about it. Now she’s supportive with everything
I do. A dramatic change. But she’s still drinking. . . She knows that there is a possibility that the son she wished was dead, could be dead.

. . . Now here I am today. I am still struggling, but I have more strength than I ever thought I could have in this world. My T cell count is higher, 564. My weight stands firm, 185. I feel healthy, I feel ‘gorgeous,’ like I tell everybody else.

I would like to do some modeling. I do poetry. I’ve written over 350 poems already. Actually I do enjoy writing when I have feelings. I also love music. It’s another way I express how I feel. I love R and B. . . mainly Regina Belle. She tells it all.

Before I found out about my HIV, I was just another youth. I was an angry youth.
I was abused sexually, mentally, emotionally, physically. I hated my family. I can honestly say this disease has given me a new outlook on life. No, I’m not happy that I’m HIV positive, but I can truly say that it has given me a lot of positive thoughts on what life is and how important it is."

 

POEM BY MAURICE ANTHONY

Look into my eyes,
And tell me what you see,
It’s me facing this deadly disease,

I have nowhere to run,
Or nowhere to hide,
It’s mostly me and my tough pride,

I’m young and gay,
But, I’m living my life day by the day,
So, it’s hard to say,
Where I’ll lay.

I don’t know what to expect,
Or even what to think,
But one thing for sure,
I don’t need a shrink,

So it’s hard to get by,
Even on a little lie,
But, still I try,

While I cry, and cry, and cry,
But, I know eventually I’ll die.