For Daniel and SergeSunday snow falls in the Carolinas,on a cold silent morning.Barely out of my bed,I anticipate the warmth of strong coffee, and the summoning of my dormant senses.The phone rings, piercing the silence, like tones of a wind chimeborne on cold air through woodlands,so quiet otherwise that one could hear the snowflakesas they touch down.I, not yet awake, grasp the receiver.“Hello ...
For Daniel and SergeSunday snow falls in the Carolinas,
on a cold silent morning.
Barely out of my bed,
I anticipate the warmth of strong coffee,
and the summoning of my dormant senses.
The phone rings, piercing the silence,
like tones of a wind chime
borne on cold air through woodlands,
so quiet otherwise
that one could hear the snowflakes
as they touch down.
I, not yet awake, grasp the receiver.
“Hello,” I say.
“Allô...Ron?”
“Oui,”
I squeeze out tentatively,
not knowing to whom I speak
and not expecting to need my French
on a snowy Carolina Sunday morning.
“Qui est-ce?” I ask.
“C'est Serge...Ecoute.
Daniel nous a quitté.”
I think to myself
that this is strange.
Serge calls to tell me
that Daniel has left.
I think of lover’s quarrels,
and wonder why Serge would bother
calling from Brussels with such news.
“Quand?”
“When?” I ask.
“Vendredi.”
Still confused, I ask how he left.
“A l'hôpital.”
“Oh, Serge…
Je suis désolé.”
So very sorry,
I now understand that Daniel has died.
“From what?” I ask.
“Comme toi” I hear Serge say.
“AIDS?” I ask. “SIDA?”
“Oui...
I must go.
He would have wanted you to know.”
“And you?” I ask.
“I am fine, but must go.
Bye.”
Click.
A
dial
tone
signals the
end
of conversation
as
the snow
outside
continues to fall
with reverent
quietness.
Copyright 2004 by Ron HudsnHere Kitty KittyI sense my death
creeping 'round
like a feral kitten.
Wild-eyed and ears back,
it craves a caress
yet won't come
when I call.
Here Kitty, Kitty.
Come on, it's cool.
Copyright 2004 by Ron HudsonOctober NightSpider silk spun in a single filament,
arching, disappearing into the dark,
swirling circularly like a jump-rope in the cool air
for a slow moving spirit to leap high,
twenty feet off the ground.
Oak, hickory and poplars
hold most of their leaves--
splendor of ochre, yellow, gold and red-
though enough have fallen,
to reveal lights from nearby homes
reminding that strangers are near.
Copyright 11 October 2004 by Ron Hudson.biografia:
Ron HudsonRon Hudson was born in southeastern North Carolina in 1959. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received degrees in French and Chemistry and at L’Institut des Étudiants Étrangers, Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier III in Montpellier, France, where he received a Diplôme Supérieur d’Études Françaises, 3ème Degré.
For 14 years, he worked in Clinical Data Management at Burroughs Wellcome Company, in Research Triangle Park, NC. His work there involved drug development support in the form of programming and systems/business analysis and people management. While helping support the development of the first drug approved to treat AIDS in the US [among many others], he was diagnosed with HIV infection in December of 1985. He continued to work until 1994, when he left work to die. The development of new drug classes has since prolonged his life. Into his 21st known year of HIV infection, he continues to live in Durham, NC, where he endeavors to educate about the ongoing issues related to HIV/AIDS in the US and the world through individual contact and internet interactions.
An amateur writer, Mr. Hudson has written a number of poems that explore the love, loss, fear, anguish and hope that surround the life of one gay man in his encounters with others. His professional work for drug development has been published in “The Drug Information Association Journal”, and his poetry has been published online in The Other Voices Poetry International Project [www.othervoicespoetry.org] , in the print journal Erbacce and in a few additional online magazines. He has collaborated with Poet Sr. Francisco Azuela and artists from four continents to develop an illustrated trilingual-edition on CD of Azuela’s book La Palabra Ardiente as a fundraiser for AIDS relief projects worldwide. Publication is being pursued at the time of this writing.
Mr. Hudson has consulted for the “Other Voices International Project” and has been teaching himself Spanish by translating poetry from Latin America and Europe. He states, “I have found it very rewarding to work with poets from other countries and to improve my understanding of their cultures and language. I am thrilled to provide a voice for them in the English language through translation. Our interactions have created deep friendships that are reflective of the nature and intent of this project.”
You can contact Ron Hudson by email at Ron.Hudson@verizon.net. His blog is located at
http://www.ronhudson.blogspot.comRon.Hudson@verizon.net
English 
Spanish
