July 31, 2026

My Uncle Who Died of AIDS Probably

by Tarik Dobbs

Former Mizna guest editor Tarik Dobbs imagines an uncle’s history in “My Uncle Who Died of AIDS Probably”. The poem, surrounded by absence and redaction, contemplates an interpretation of the past while holding space for what cannot be known.

Originally published in Mizna 21.1: Queer + Trans Voices, reprinted on Mizna Online as part of the Disability Folio.

—Kate Bestall, editorial intern

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Your legs obliterated
                                      & collapsing country

—Tarik Dobbs

My Uncle Who Died of AIDS Probably

Locked away in Lubnan : late 1970s probably

In the olive grove back home

             your                         

                       Your

                       Name                                                                                                 

Perhaps you’re being eaten        by :

                                                                                                                                                                                                 malaise/

                                                                     fatigue

Your legs obliterated

                                      & collapsing country

Maybe you climb through the olive grove

You beg my other uncle not to leave

                                                                        

           akhe I’m                                           

                                                     take me to France—

you probably said

Take                                           

         Pouring your blood into leaves on a tree

         Zeitun                                        with red like     

Remember

Your mouth falls beneath the bolt

Your sores go quiet :

                                  wrapped          times in white sheets

                                           

                your brother asks                               

You really liked it      didn’t you?

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