You Invited Me on a Picnic – Vivian Imperiale

It was time to go.
I walked outside to wait for you.

You were picking me up for a picnic
and I was delighted I’d be with you.

You didn’t talk about
your AIDS diagnosis —
mysterious letters I didn’t comprehend.
What was that, anyway?

Instead you were just you,
which was everything — the perfect man.
Your laughter, your wit, your exuberance
kept me smiling and, as always, adoring you.

It was time to go.
You picked up your picnic blanket.

You carefully folded it
and handed it to me.
“Here. Take it.
I won’t be needing it anymore.”

That’s how you told me.
It was time to go.

(In loving memory of Richard-Michel Paris)

Vivian Imperiale
Vivian Imperiale uses poetry to process her emotions and to pay ongoing tribute to the Love of her Life who died in 1985 in the AIDS Epidemic.

Constance Louie-Handelman
Constance Louie-Handelman completed her A.A. degree at CCSF in 1973. Now retired as a clinical psychologist, she has returned to CCSF 2019 spring semester with a focus on digital photography.