Heartbeat
I know you can hear
the sound of my heart beating
when I think of you
as I look up
at the royal blue sky
where the angels
and all of God’s children roam
and I know you’re out there
somewhere
watching down upon me
from the gates of Heaven
with your smiling eyes.
And I absolutely feel no shame
when I’m no longer able
to hold back
the tears in my eyes
every time I look
at your photograph
and see your beautiful face
and my mind travels back
to my childhood days
as fond memories
flash before my eyes
of all the precious moments
we spent together as a family
celebrating birthdays and holidays,
or me being the recipient
of scoldings and whippings
whenever I stepped out of line.
And deep down inside
I wish I could have
one last chance
to turn back
the hands of time
so I can hear your sweet voice
in my ears calling my name,
so I can taste your homemade
German chocolate cake
and buttermilk pancakes
so I can hug you in my arms
and to tell you how much
I love you and I miss you
because I didn’t
have the chance
to say goodbye
and on the day you died,
a part of me died
and my life
has never been the same.
And I know you can feel
the pride inside of me
because your blood
flows through my veins
and your legacy lives
through my accomplishments
and although my mother
will always be my inspiration,
your spirit gave me LIFE
because you were the one
who told me that I was
“YOUNG, GIFTED, AND BLACK!”
and NOBODY can take that
away for me
and you taught me
to always believe
in my dreams
because if I believe,
then I can achieve
anything I desire
and straight from my heart,
I THANK YOU!
Copyright © 1998, 2007 by Bill Holmes.
All rights reserved.
Bill Holmes is the author of the full-length poetry book, Straight From My Heart; the spoken word CD, The Air I Breathe; the ESSENCE bestselling fiction novel, One Love and its forthcoming sequel I Can’t Tell You Why; and the writer and the director of the independent, short-films The Program and Butterflies. As a poet, he has opened for artists such as The Last Poets and the award-winning jazz musician Roy Ayers. Bill’s work has been published and featured in 50BOLD.com, African Voices and ESSENCE. Bill is the founder of the creative-writing course Write Here! Write Now!, which he taught for five years at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA through the grassroots, non-profit organization PASCEP.
