Poem 199 ± December 20, 2015

Khafre Kujichagulia Abif
Who Can I Tell?

Who can I tell, “I think I like boys”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “A man from my neighborhood raped me”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “My uncle made me take nude pictures of him”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “That I walked to the bridge to jump”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “That I longed for a big brother’s protection”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “The Preachers said, God doesn’t love me”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “I had sex with a man”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell, “I want to take this mask off”
Who can I tell?
Who can I tell that I tested positive for HIV?
Who can I tell?
Who will take the news in stride?
Who will begin to micromanage my life?
Who will ask me, “Are you eating and taking your meds?”
Who will not be able to move past my status?
Who can I tell, “All I ever wanted was to be myself”
Who can I tell, “See Me, Not HIV”

Khafre Kujichagulia AbifKhafre Kujichagulia Abif is the author of Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens: Prayers, Poems and Affirmations for People Living with HIV/AIDS (AuthorHouse, 2013). Khafre is the Founder/Executive Director of the HIV/AIDS awareness project Cycle for Freedom. Khafre is one of five men in the inaugural class of The HEALTH (Health Executive Approaches to Leadership and Training in HIV) Seminar Program developed by My Brother’s Keeper, Inc. He has also served as the Community Co-Chair for the New Jersey HIV Prevention Community Planning Group. As a librarian in his first career, Khafre was the first recipient of the Dr. John C. Tyson Emerging Leader Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

This poems appeared in Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens: Prayers, Poems & Affirmations for People Living with HIV/AIDS.