Hans Christian Andersen Poem by Denis Martindale

I stared and stared and stared and stared... yet nothing came to mind
And for a moment, I despaired, what new words could I find?
By faith, I waited, let it ride, then closed my eyes a while,
In hopes that God would be my guide and that thought made me smile.

Yet what of me, this writer now... one blank page and one pen?
I wondered what would God allow that I might share with men.
A winsome story for each child? A noble parable?
A sultry tale of one beguiled, or something fanciful?

I thought of psalmists long ago, no fairy tales had they
And yet today most people know the words they chose to pray.
And be they shepherd boys, or kings, or temple priests who wrote,
They found the comfort that God brings as their chief antidote.

While writing's such a broad expanse, I've one choice from the range,
Beyond the blank page, there to glance, at what God wants to change.
And then it came, a single line, one thought that said it all,
Was it perchance, or by design, was it a miracle?

I only knew that my pen moved, each word from left to right
And suddenly my doubts were soothed, the future looking bright.
I chuckled to myself once more, for I was on a roll,
Though thrilled again, I knew the score, maintaining self-control.

The words began to glide and stream, the sequence working well,
As if the answer to a dream, I had a tale to tell...
And so I worked upon the text, I laboured for an hour,
No more concerned, no more perplexed, God granting me more power.

No more the blank page resting there, The Little Mermaid's done,
Her true love stands beyond compare, it shines forth like the sun.
My fairy tale was good as gold, God granted me this joy,
The greatest fairy tale now told for every girl and boy...


Denis Martindale, February 2016.