The beat of my heart is the grandfather clock in my grandmother’s living room
Keeping time to the second
So we all know when to come and go
And when to come and stay.
The beat of my heart is the watch on my wrist,
Making sure I know
When to be here
And when to be there
And sometimes
When to just be.
The beat of my heart is a drum echoing in my mind after a drum circle at camp,
When my voice is trying to remember how to work again
After such intense silence
That was not really silence
But rather the simple sound
Of friends
Keeping time together
The beat of my heart
Is the scratching of pencil on paper
‘Cause I can’t stand to write poems in pen
The beat of my heart is the song I put on repeat, over and over,
Because the music holds such strong memories
Or because the beat keeps time with my heartbeat
Or maybe
I just like this song
The beat of my heart
Is the boy next door, banging away on his new Christmas-present drum set late at night, while I’m trying to sleep
But that’s okay
Because I think maybe he got that new drum set from his grandma or uncle or best friend,
Or maybe he’s practicing to impress that cute girl in his class
And I know what it’s like
To like someone so much
You’ll practice something extra hard
So maybe
They’ll notice you
When you perform in the school talent show
And say, “Hey
That was really good”
And they’ll continue on with their day
But for a minute, you can say
“Hey
He noticed me.”
And you tell your best friend
In the bathroom at school
‘Cause that’s the only place where girls can talk in private
And share secrets
Without being overheard by any of the boys
Even though you still have to whisper so none of the popular girls will hear
‘Cause everyone knows it’s the popular girls who spread the rumors
And it might be the end of the world if someone else found out
And when I send that one boy a text,
Saying,
“Hey, I like you… as in like-like…
I like-like you”
And when I finally hit “Send”
My heart beats extra loud
And I’m afraid the whole world will hear
But of course they don’t
‘Cause it’s my heart
And its beat is just for me
And no one else gets to hear.