ODE TO THE FLAMING QUEEN

Now is the 25th year of AIDS plague. A crying shame that it hasn't gone away yet. Below is a poem I had written 16 years ago about my friend, Tom Saavedra who passed away of AIDS at the age of 30 in 1990.

Ode To the Flaming Queen

To bid our beloved friend away on his bon voyage
To the far-reaching and wondrous Shangri-La
over the rainbow where the angels greet
and friends joyfully reunite
Express what you may, in grief or solace
Hallelujah! Rejoice in his pleasure
of the everlasting journey,
befitting of the flaming queen with such pizzazz!

A man that loved men as a queen would
With unwasted and unbridled passions
“To be true to thine own self” and
“How dare you presume I’m a heterosexual”
were his credo
An unabashed queen of his own crystal design,
to shock, mock, titillate, and dazzle with glee
Disarming forthrightness sparkled with winsome regality
twinkles in his eyes bespoke, “life’s such a banquet”
Feast adorned with adventures and style
befitting of the flaming queen

The queen’s royal virtues-
to listen to the drummer and
to march to his own beat, wherever it went with him
With his spirited charisma to touch upon us,
his charitable heartbeats to warm over,
his soulful resonance to uplift,
Through him, old coats of muted hues we shed
New beats we light up and to march along
His grace to guide, we soar like butterflies
toward a rising star awaiting our reach
with his Pied Piper’s fife, joining in concert,
we radiate in triumph
Through him, one and all,
we blossom eternally

The guardian angel for life’s little losers
a shining, sturdy beacon of
honesty, faith, courage, inspiration and lively humor
Praises and admiration in homage
from the queen’s folks and,
the people living across the borders
Wearing one crown, yet in many-splendored colors,
The flaming queen as
a comic - outrageous and artful without being coarse,
a leader - defiant without being revolutionary,
a teacher - impartial without being superior,
a friend - the miracle of brotherly love

the generous queen cultivated the garden
that stretched over the boundaries
Bloomed with fruits and sustenance to bestow
the noble queen gone on his trek, return none
If to sow, reap and share his gifts,
His legacy in perpetual bounty shall return
Memories and his essence—the treasures in our hearts,
If within thine folds choose to nurture,
shall live on with brilliance
As decreed by the flaming queen

Of more years carefree and fathomless what might come forth
My lifetime with the queen suddenly a vexed finity
Seven years of friendship now a measured memory
What comfort take to thy searching heart
Friendship knows no age but its precious prize
Times we shared runneth over
Peace and fun be with him everlasting in Shangri-La

Shipboard in his ritzy finery
amidst the sprinkling confetti and undulating streamers,
With the shimmering waves and playful mists to roll by
Sailing toward the amber sunset and to beyond
on the wings of the ocean’s breeze,
on his never-ending vacation
on the royal flagship
befitting of the flaming queen