Art At Its Heart Poem by Denis Martindale

Art represents the human condition,
our place in the Universe and Cosmic Plan.
At its best, art enriches and enhances our lives,
our hopes and our dreams.
Art can be a basic form of expression,
such as a doodle, a limerick, or a quotation.
Art can transcend all that has gone before.
Art can encompass divine prophecy,
or some secret message or code.
A mystery that becomes available centuries later
when translations unlock the door to greater wisdom.
So the message may be that hidden acrostic
within a poem or hidden in history,
as with a Pharaoh's tomb, and full of treasures.
Just there, kept safe, for those who can appreciate them
with a resolute sense of wonder and awe.
So it is, that art is not just what gets presented as art alone.
It is the reception of the themes within.
How each affects the human heart and mind,
and the human spirit, too.
At times, art offers us much greater insight,
as one that is unfolding before our very eyes.
Or a revelation of deeper meanings,
and ones that we may retain by choice
for the rest of our lives.
Or some precious gift that is easily recited,
as with sentimental poems and powerful monologues.
Or some detailed and precisely-crafted art
that we can cherish and desire to own.
Surely then, we can say, that is wonderful,
and that is mine and rightly so.
Or music that gets heard across the globe,
and that is full of hope and glory.
Music that is transmitted across outer space,
traversing the length and breadth of the Milky Way,
and distances beyond the silvery stars.
So why limit ourselves
to the basic doodle, limerick and quotation?
God knows we can do so much more.
Ask the scientists and the astronauts,
even though they are merely scratching the surface
of all that is thought of as art.
Man is made in the image of God, and God is eternal,
and as such, art is eternal
and worthy of its high regard in one and all.
To dismiss art is to dismiss life, its creativity,
its positivity and divine power.
Therefore consider art for art's sake,
and for its essential qualities.
These can bless us every single day,
beyond the mere singing of Happy Birthday now and then.
Or the singing of How Great Thou Art
in perfect praise to God Almighty, the King of Creation.
Art is at the heart of everything.
It is central to the human condition.
Art is still art in all its diverse forms,
and as such remains just as God has intended it to be.


Denis Martindale. September 2020.