SAINT JULIAN PRESS POET
Catharine Clark-Sayles
Naming the Monster
Young man, completely healthy until purple blotches
on his face doubled in a week, lungs whited out,
brain abscesses, oral fungus—on a vent on arrival,
dead the next day. He was the first we could not save
then a second, a third--
beautiful boys dead in days of exotic infections
sweating into skeletons, blind, confused, struggling
to breathe, kissed by purple sarcomas.
We wore masks and gloves, tried not to take fright
about what we did not know, stunned each morning
at the counts. San Francisco, 1980, no one knew
but suspicion fell on bathhouses, something
about being gay
although the soldiers insisted “not me”
preachers claimed divine retribution, Army regulations
demanded discharge to families that said “no,
we won’t take him back”
antibiotics did not work and a blood splash, a needle stick
might be deadly, we added face shields, extra gloves
and a name—AIDS—which did not tame it, did not save one
gave no one comfort.
on his face doubled in a week, lungs whited out,
brain abscesses, oral fungus—on a vent on arrival,
dead the next day. He was the first we could not save
then a second, a third--
beautiful boys dead in days of exotic infections
sweating into skeletons, blind, confused, struggling
to breathe, kissed by purple sarcomas.
We wore masks and gloves, tried not to take fright
about what we did not know, stunned each morning
at the counts. San Francisco, 1980, no one knew
but suspicion fell on bathhouses, something
about being gay
although the soldiers insisted “not me”
preachers claimed divine retribution, Army regulations
demanded discharge to families that said “no,
we won’t take him back”
antibiotics did not work and a blood splash, a needle stick
might be deadly, we added face shields, extra gloves
and a name—AIDS—which did not tame it, did not save one
gave no one comfort.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catharine Clark-Sayles grew up in a military family, went to medical school, and became an Army doctor, followed by a private internal medicine and geriatrics practice. In 2019 she completed an MFA in poetry and narrative medicine at the Dominican University of California. Tebot Bach Press published previous collections, One Breath and Lifeboat and a chapbook, Brats,published by Finishing Line Press. The Telling, The Listening is her fourth book drawn from forty-five years of medical practice.
Catharine Clark-Sayles grew up in a military family, went to medical school, and became an Army doctor, followed by a private internal medicine and geriatrics practice. In 2019 she completed an MFA in poetry and narrative medicine at the Dominican University of California. Tebot Bach Press published previous collections, One Breath and Lifeboat and a chapbook, Brats,published by Finishing Line Press. The Telling, The Listening is her fourth book drawn from forty-five years of medical practice.
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Publication Date: October 15, 2023
Paperback: $18.00 Publisher: Saint Julian Press, Inc. Language: English Paperback: 84 pages ISBN-13: 978-1-955194-18-1 For an advance copy, contact: Ron Starbuck or Catharine Clark-Sayles. |
Available Through ~ Ingram Content Group ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ IndieBound ~ Bookshop ~ Book Depository (UK) ~ Fine Book Distributors & Retailers
Saint Julian Press, Inc. * Houston, TX 77008 * Ron Starbuck ~ Publisher-CEO
Email: ronstarbuck@saintjulianpress.com * Web: www.saintjulianpress.com
Saint Julian Press, Inc. * Houston, TX 77008 * Ron Starbuck ~ Publisher-CEO
Email: ronstarbuck@saintjulianpress.com * Web: www.saintjulianpress.com
SAINT JULIAN PRESS, INC. © 2022
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As an Amazon Associate — Saint Julian Press, Inc. may earn funds from any qualifying purchases.
This arrangement does help to sustain the press and allow us to publish more books by more authors.