Hello, my name is Glenna McCarthy and I am a native New Yorker that has been positive since 1990. A clinician told me that I had six months to two years to live. I wasted a lot of time trying to shut down, turn off and hide from life and pain. The result was staggering, by using my status as an excuse I stayed stuck waiting to die. My life expectancy was misinformed and it’s been 27 years and now I want to live, grow and face my fears. I am no longer afraid of change; as a matter of fact I embrace it.

VOICE OF REASON

Why am I still alive?

It’s not like I was trying

at least not in the past

A woman once questioned me

with hostility asking why I

lived and her father died.

I am talking about AIDS

I did not have an answer for her

I was sarcastic, smug and cocky

trying to hide my fear and self loathing

No, I do not know why I lived and

your father died

although this was long ago

I never forgot you

or your father whom I never met

and many friends that I have

lost to AIDS over the years

I do not know why I lived

and her father died but

I plan to find out.