Response to “4 AM” By Gil Cuadros

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Response to “4 AM” By Gil Cuadros The poem #5 “4AM” from “The Quilt Series” by Gil Cuadros was the one that evoked my feelings. The narrator describes one of the most horrible moments in his life. “4AM” is about a homosexual couple between John, the person in a coma, and Cuadros. The author hoped that his husband will recover. However four minutes to 4 AM John died. Julie Gays suffering from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) encounter numerous problems, particularly accessing quality healthcare services. Specifically, homosexual partners were the first people to be diagnosed with an immune deficiency condition in the 1980s, which turned out to be AIDS. “The Quilt Series” reveals the plights of gays who lived with AIDS. Based on how Cuadros describes John’s health condition by saying that “his brain half-eaten,” it seems he was in an advanced stage of AIDS (Cuadros 133). The author reveals how sexual orientation contributed to health inequities. The poem “4AM” reveals how sexuality contributed to health inequities of gays in the late 19th century. Cuadros primary purpose of writing “4AM” was to reveal the plights of homosexual couples with AIDS. The author might have given the poem its title “4AM” since it was the time he started believing that John is no more. In the last line of the poem, Cuadros says “4AM sharp and I began to howl” (Cuadros 134). The author’s difficult moment in agreeing that his partner was dead, related to my experience when I lost someone very close to me. Indeed, that was the time I realized that we are all passengers in this world. Nothing made me feel good and I cried until no more tears would come out of my eyes. By reading “4AM,” I reflected on that specific time when I got the news that my friend had passed away. Despite my relative’s hesitation to reveal my friend’s death by telling me that I needed to go home immediately, I knew somethind bad had happened. The instance related to when the narrator received a call from the hospital. “I pulled the voice off the cradle, the nurse said, you better come over right away, with a friend, don’t hesitate, don’t drive yourself, promise me that” (Cuadros 133). Deep down my heart, I knew that my friend was in another world. At that moment, I was confused and did not know what to do. By not revealing the exact occurrence during emotional situations is a strategy that Cuadros uses to communicate with the rea...