World AIDS Day: I’m Here [POEM]

Rev. Kelvin Sauls, former Pastor of Downs Memorial United Methodist Church (Oakland, CA) shares his thought provoking poetic reflection of World AIDS Day.

I’m Here

I don’t need you to love me

I got my God – Creator! Comforter! Healer!

I got my friends – chosen family!

…Got my bed when my body can’t stand tall

…Got my hands doin’ good for the long haul

…Got my eyes to see beyond the physical

…Got my mind to think clearly ‘bout the spiritual

…Got my heart to protect on the way

…Got my breathe to be taken away

I may have hiv/aids, but I’m not hiv/aids

Like *Celie, “I may be ugly”

Like Celie, “I may be poor:

Like Celie, “I may be black”

Like Celie, “I’m here”

I got inside of me the ability to tap into God’s fullness

I got inside me the ability to live into God’s greatness

I’m thankful for who God really made me

I may have hiv/aids, but I’m not hiv/aids

Knit together in my mother’s womb

Shaped from the inside out

A combination of divinity and humanity

I may have hiv/aids, but I’m not hiv/aids

Mind, body and soul – I’m marvelously made!

Mind body and soul – I’m wonderfully made!

Mind body and soul – I’m beautifully made!

I may have hiv/aids, but I’m not hiv/aids

I may have hiv/aids, but I’m here

Mind, body and spirit, I’m here.

God is here. You are here

Let’s change the atmosphere!