In magic, we watched him perform

The first generation to see the wonder

He sang out, on perfect pitch

No-one could steal his thunder

In this spirit so alive

Was the heartbeat of “The Jackson Five”

An audience of children responded

Giving him love, he had never known

Away from all the adoration

The little boy with the platform shoes cried in the dark alone

From where the audience sat transfixed

There was no guile, or clever trick

In his soulful songs, so alive

Here was the heartbeat of “The Jackson Five”

Watching him pour out his joy

 On front and center stage

No-one guessed

That his broken heart

Would fuel the fire of fear, and outrage

Years after the 10 year old’s

Footsteps faded

He knew he needed another look

He made a come-back

And a new generation

Asked him to sign his name in their book

In this new boy-man

Whose feet glided

As on air, so alive

Was the heartbeat of a new generation

Whose parents remembered “The Jackson Five”

He went on to dazzle

With new mediums

With bizarre facial masks

The children still adored him

Imitating his “moon-walk dance”

Years later

When the media turned on him

And extortion took its toll

When crowds shirked away,

Loyal fans stood by him still

For they remembered that little boy

When the song inside him, came alive

For the song was the heartbeat of a nation

And a hope that love would survive

Cynthia Lamanna may be reached at cynthialamanna@yahoo.com and writes poetry and prose.