By Ruthy Lindvall

I never got to meet my grandpa, Oliver. He was a middle-school teacher in the Seattle area, loved his family, friends, and volunteering in his church. He loved opera, sometimes singing as a supernumerary for the Seattle Metropolitan Opera. He passed away before I was born, from complications from AIDs on Thanksgiving Day, 1987. Though I never met him, I also adore opera and love humanitarian work. I feel close to him when I participate in those activities. This poem is a tribute to my Grandpa Oliver and a reflection on how far we have come to create a world where Love Wins. Though there is still much work to be done, he would be proud of where we are today and where we are headed.

The virus stole you away, before you and I ever got to enjoy the light of day
My thoughts try to create, what could have been, were it not for fate’s obfuscate
Your time on earth, the young minds you helped shape, I imagine an epic landscape
Your passion for opera, for faith, restoring humanity’s hope in the human race

Now science has discovered medicine that rages in bright defiance
Against HIV, staving off AIDS so we can live and defy death’s spade
My heart is sad that I never got to meet such an awesome granddad
My soul is glad to know that you can look through heaven’s window

I wonder what you think, of the laws that now govern our precinct
Acts you were arrested for, now protected, accepted, finally respected
There is still much work to be done, ‘fore there is freedom for everyone
Wish you were here, to hold me near & continue to journey, so kind & queer

This article was originally published in the 2024 Winter Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.