Pulse of Life

Arlene Blackman Yolles ♦ June 6, 2017 ♦ 4 Comments

Pulse of Life

And I hear them laughing

And I see them smiling

And I wonder where they have gone now.

All the things they were in life

All the joys they brought

Are sweet memories we share now … cherish and cling to.

For the things they did and said,

For the plans they made,

Sweetly, softly, in our hearts they linger, linger.

But I see them everywhere

And I see them now

How can I tell them what they meant in life … and how they touch me still,

How the Pulse of Life, when loved ones depart,

Beats forever in mind and heart.

It was a year ago that a crazed gunman entered Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and gunned down 49 young people, savagely killing them and wounding 53 others.  Pulse nightclub described itself as “Orlando’s hottest gay bar,” thus many of those affected were members of the LGBTQ community.

My memorial poem was inspired by one of the Songs for Orlando composed by my friend, composer and musician, Dr. Joe Utterback (http://joeutterback.com/).  More about the tribute Joe wrote, as well as others of his CD’s, including an original and moving composition Newtown Requiem for the shooting at the elementary school, can be found at http://www.jazzmuze.com/.

I thought it a fitting tribute to share it at this time marking the one year anniversary of the worst mass shooting in modern United States history.