As I think of the hills and the clear blue sea
Memories of Jamaica rush back to me
As I think of the rivers and fertile earth
I remember Jamaica, the land of my birth

I relive, in my mind, a distant past
And my heart laments the times I’ve lost
I think of a time and a place I feel
Gone but etched in memories surreal

I long to return to a simpler way
In that sunshine land I used to play
And the almost primitive ways and means
These are the things that fill my dreams

The beaches, the mountains, a caressing breeze
Cane fields, banana and coconut trees
Long and winding country roads
And country busses with heavy loads

The handcart man, selling his ware
The Jolly bus and penny-ha-penny bus fare
A fudgeman riding to and fro
Shouting Icicle, Ice-cream Cake and Choca-mo

The market stalls filled with fruit
The laughter, the innocence of my youth
Things that I miss and long for so
Things that remind me of long ago

At nights I recall the star filled sky
And Peenie Wallie’s flittering by
In whispered tones we’d spend the night
Telling Duppy stories that filled with fright

On a windy day the kites would soar
While angry waves lashed at the shore
Swaying trees in the howling wind
God how much I miss these things

The way the rain, slowed everything down
The earthy smell as it hit the ground
Refreshing the land and watering crops
The exciting clangor on the zinc roof tops

Oh Jamaica I miss your ways
I miss your climate and sunny days
In a foreign land where I’ve come to rest
Spurned on by an economic quest

Though no turning back, on this traveled way
For you my homeland, I’ll always pray
My memories of you will never depart
Jamaica, Jamaica the beat of my heart

David Ramgeet COPYRIGHT