Your Presence Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

My desire to fill this void

beats like a shattered drum,

as I hear the echo distance after distance

of your unfettered absence;

in the quietude of my living room

I sit on the sofa

stirring memories of yesterday,

as I look at your mahogany-framed picture;

some time in the afternoon

I lifted your coffee-cup off the table

where you had your last quench

of rich cappuccino;

before I reached for the kitchen sink

I felt a whiff of emotions

like a an elated rush of blood:

and I now hold on to this treasure

as if it is your presence

I need more than myself -

never to let go;

your presence must never be

just a dream only

on the handle of a coffee-cup.