Driven To Be A Writer! Poem by Denis Martindale

When I, at first, found pause to write
And then to do that well,
Not all my English proved that bright,
My tiny tales to tell...
But still the stories dwelt within
This happy heart of mine,
Such that I knew I must give in
And press on with each line...

Since teenage years were quite a farce,
At school, and work, in time,
My writing slowly had to pass,
Though once thought quite sublime...
But when the pausing time returned,
Emotions calmed and soothed,
I thought of all the wisdom learned,
Thus writing was improved...

And decades high and decades low,
Can't brighten, shade, or dim
The added truths I've come to know,
Not written on a whim...
Nor forced to freedom on a page,
Nor battled to release,
Each mood swing's not the final stage
That blocks or beckons peace...

It's all by faith this heart still shares,
Beyond the good and bad,
Beyond life's carousels and cares,
Beyond all thoughts I've had...
For even now, I'm writing still,
To help my fellow man,
Until I die, I must, I will,
Determinedly I plan...

A title flashes left to right
Across my writer's eyes,
A sudden sparkle of insight,
A hint of some surprise...
And with blank paper and full pen
This child of grace persists,
With winsome phrases now and then,
While poetry exists...

For I was born to write for you,
A message to relay,
God's mustard seed grows through and through,
For faith can save the day...
I count the syllables I think,
In search for eight or six,
To somehow get the thoughts in sync
And choose whatever sticks...

A common metre hymn style gave
This pattern for each theme,
To guide me so new words I save,
Each driven from each dream...
Such that a thousand poems on,
I'm here, new thoughts in mind
And why, until my life has gone,
I'll write to help Mankind...


Denis Martindale July 2016.


The poem can be sung to the Gospel hymn,
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,
Let Nothing Ye Dismay...