Poems by John James Pearsall

Poems by John James Pearsall

GIFTS TO YOU

Over the years, I’ve given you diamonds and gold. I’ve given you cars and coats. I’ve given you shoes and clothes. I’ve given you all your heart’s content. I’ve given you my heart and soul. Yet you are not satisfied. You look at me and say “Thank you, but I cannot enjoy any gift until I open the gift given to me so long ago by God: The gift of an open heart.”

JUST LISTENING

Lying here listening to the things going on around me… eyes closed, breathing controlled, ears open. I can hear the hum that my building makes 24 hours a day, that I don’t notice when moving about. I can hear the rodents that scare the wits out of me. Beside me I can hear her heartbeat slowing down to a normal beat, her breathing becoming more shallow, and then steady! Last but not least, I hear her almost silent prayer asking God to let our lovemaking germinate the new life we’ve been trying for.

THE MAN I CALL DAD

The man I call dad, I know of him. The man I call dad, I have faint memories of him. The man I call dad told me a man takes care of his own. I wake-up one day and the man I call dad is gone. The man I call dad, I dislike. The man I call dad has a new family. The man I call dad called and said, “I love you.” Finally. I look back at my life and remember things about a man I call dad— though it’s not much. I remember how he taught me to stay strong. And to always be proud of who I am. The man I call dad, I no longer dislike. When I really think about it, I am the man I call dad.