27 Comments
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Kali Fox-Jirgl's avatar

Whoa. Powerful and delightfully disturbing 🖤

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Edward Swafford's avatar

Thank you so much 🥹🖤

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Jill Eng's avatar

These went well together--in such an interesting fashion. Energized, fascinating portrayals of life inside death and vice versa. A beautiful assembly--and Edward, yours, carrying pain and sadness with strength and vibrancy (as always).

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Edward Swafford's avatar

This piece made me super emotional when I wrote it, anything I write RE fallen victims of HIV/AIDS just hits so close to home. The gay male world has lived beneath this specter for fifty years.

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Jill Eng's avatar

Yes. You may know I was a professional modern dancer. I was blessed to dance for a choreographer who was once a famous dancer internationally. He is now in his eighties. He was living in Manhattan--in the 80s--and lost a majority of his friends. He was spared even tho he was part of the high scene of those times. He lives with that strange guilt (of having dodged the bullet) the rest of his life. He is a gay black man. I am very aware of the subject matter. He remains someone close to me.

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Debdutta Pal's avatar

That (striked out) If followed by a When...

These work so well together, a perfect synergy.

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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

Thank you, Deb!

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Edward Swafford's avatar

Thank youuuuuuuu 🖤🌪🌪🥹

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Jozef Cain's avatar

Bruh... Swaffy this reading was so fucking dope. Very much enjoyed how you played up your tone for this; you had me evil-grinning as I listened. What a showcase.

And Harry's tender tone, a dark lullabye. A dopaminergic torment of queries.

If Ed's reading was a high dose of white upper, Hazza's was a shot of golden brown downer.

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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

Couldn’t have said it better myself my barista brother.

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Edward Swafford's avatar

I am a man of many voices, young squire.

Oh, his voice is so damn dreamy 🥹🥹. Smooth as butter.

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E.R. Davis's avatar

the dramatic reading gave me shivers...These poems give a voice to those whose voices are lost.

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Edward Swafford's avatar

I never knew I had the voice of an elderly bishop inside of me?!

#Octaverange

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Anthi Psomiadou's avatar

"I̵f̵ ̵When I spiral

through and out

of my world

will you follow suit

and fall down the hole,

stand by my side

and pick me back up,

or just follow on

from where I left off?

Let’s end in isolation

together".

That's a great stanza!

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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

Thank you, sweet Anthi!

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Edward Swafford's avatar

Hazza is a queen (king?) of the written word 🥹🥹.

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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

queen 👸

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Anthi Psomiadou's avatar

Odyssey paths do speak.

A really insightful poem!

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Edward Swafford's avatar

Thanking you with Grecian praise, dear Anthi 🖤⚡️🙏☕️🤯❤️🥰

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Anthi Psomiadou's avatar

😉

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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

This piece is equally important as it is powerful. Be a voice for the voiceless, whenever you can. Thank you, Edward, for guiding the way.

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Edward Swafford's avatar

This is one of the most emotional poems I’ve penned, big ups to Hazza for co-authoring this post with me. His vantage POV on the silent issue of HIV in the heterosexual community is invaluable.

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A. Njoto's avatar

Talking abt hiv.. I'm a bit worried that USAID's freeze can hinder the pepfar program like no joke thank u for bringing the awareness 💓

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Black Coffee Poetry's avatar

It's a worry, millions of people relying on HAART medications may be left out in the cold, thus creating mutated HIV strains from ceasing their medication regimens.

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A. Njoto's avatar

💔

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Mar 6
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H. R. Sinclair's avatar

Thank youuuuuu

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Edward Swafford's avatar

Thank you so much, Dove 🥹🥹🖤.

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