World AIDS Day

by keith jeffries

Wednesday 1st December 2021 7:03 pm

World AIDS Day

The Gay Plague soon came our way

justly so the prejudiced would say

A punishment from God on the perverted few

as a friend said to me......especially for you

Gay and plague soon became synonymous

they brought it upon themselves said those

who were not one of us

What can you expect from a bunch of deviants

who live and fornicate like dirty rodents

Little compassion was ever shown

on those who suffered so often alone

Then came a complete surprise for all

it was not exclusively for gays at all

Hetrosexuals soon fell foul of this malady

and they had only ever been with a lady

Something had gone seriously wrong

especially for those who had wagged their tongue

Then out of the blue came a new compassion

for those with a different sort of passion

The straight majority soon woke up

because they too had become unstuck

AIDS is now across the gender board

as gays and straights suffer the same sword

A two edged sword which embraces us all

is no longer only for those behind the wall

Since those days of fear and scorn

we gays are now the accepted norm

Did it really take an indiscriminate plague

to bring us into a new and freer age?

Comments

keith jeffries

Fri 3rd Dec 2021 12:18

Jennifer, thank you for this. The world may have manifold problems but our society and others in the West are steadily moving in the right direction.
Keith

jennifer Malden

Fri 3rd Dec 2021 11:01

Can remember only too well 'those days'. In a sense the lack of understanding, and the automatic predjudice and condemnation made a different sexuality seem 'deviant'. This was accepted without bothering to try and understand at all. Glad to hear that things are better now, at least for most people. As Stephen G says a really heartfelt poem.

keith jeffries

Thu 2nd Dec 2021 19:32

Gail, Stephen G and MC., thank you for your comments on this poem. They are much appreciated.
Keith

Stephen Gospage

Thu 2nd Dec 2021 17:22

Thank you for this frank and heartfelt poem, Keith. I can only imagine what a terrible time it must have been and it is good that more enlightened attitudes prevail today, at least in some places.

M.C. Newberry

Thu 2nd Dec 2021 16:30

The lines from that Marlene Dietrich vocal "See what the boys
in the back room will have" - take on a dreadful resonance
when aware of the appetites being indulged in those New York
and other big city gay bars in those days. A subject for retro-
social research in its own right.
The arrival of that disease perplexed the medical profession
who endured the trauma of dealing with its deadly results until
locating a common denominator. But sex crosses boundaries
(so to speak) and it still posed a risk to society as a whole.
Celibacy for all its inhibiting restrictions was the escape from
its "outstretched hand". Regress from excess worked.
The greater tragedy was arguably suffered by those who
were infected via blood transfusions while undergoing entirely
separate and unrelated medical treatment.

keith jeffries

Thu 2nd Dec 2021 11:17

Thank you Greg, Stephen and Pete,
Times have changed and for the better. However, I lived for the first eighteen years of my life as a potential criminal in this free and democratic society. Many men were sent to prison for hard labour and others for chemical castration on the National Health Service in order to cure them of this disease, as that is what it was considered to be. We can now move forward with a more intelligent understanding that we are all made different.
Thank you all for your comments.
Keith

Greg Freeman

Thu 2nd Dec 2021 09:52

Whatever the reason, Keith, I'm thankful that in many parts of the world, times have changed.

Pete (edbreathe)

Wed 1st Dec 2021 20:31

Unfortunately yes it did

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World AIDS Day

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