I will not go get baptized
for I fear the judgment
day.

To live in sin and
descend to the six-foot pit
sits better.

An empty label lingers
until you’re deemed clean
for further consumption.

Our filled label flies
off the tongue like
sour milk.

So come, fellow MSM–
let’s go down to the river
to pray.

They told me I'm lucky
to be alive.
It came like a silent predator,
deadly and without warning.
Never before have I felt
my vitality leave so suddenly.

They told me I'm lucky
to be alive.
It laid dormant, waiting patiently
for many years.
Then it struck, robbing me
of a life I once knew.

They told me I'm lucky
to be alive.
I was given a new burden to bear.
My world now demanded I keep up,
or lose the fight.

To be incurable is a harrowing thought.
You never fully appreciate
human strength
until it no longer belongs to you.
Death constantly looms,
waiting for your surrender.

But I refuse to lose.
My disease does not define me,
and I know I can win the war.
They told me I'm lucky
to be alive.
Honestly, I'm just getting started.

the table is set
but no one is home
this is why our Christmas decorations have been around for so long
we're all gone