Should I Follow My Dream? Poem by Denis Martindale

When as a dreamer, you asked this, Should I follow my dream?
This chance persists, too great to miss, think good thoughts not extreme,
For if a poet you would be, as millions have before,
Pick up your pen for poetry, for poetry galore.
The blood that flows within your veins is precious in God's sight,
Imagination still remains, within your mind tonight,
Tomorrow, it will still be there, a treasure trove at hand,
A treasure trove beyond compare, placed there to understand.
It's yours alone to sift and sort, with phrases old and new,
It's like a Summer breeze once caught that fills you through and through.

A Summer breeze yet not a storm that shakes your very soul,
A Summer breeze that keeps you warm, as poems you control.
Yes, Summer fruits are here and there, upon the Poet Tree,
Their taste so sweet, if you but share, as is your destiny.
So why deny that better part that nestles deep within,
Or raise a shield upon your heart, as if not meant to win?
A poem's not a novel, friend, composed of many lines,
You edit and then reach the end until that poem shines.
I've written thousands through the years to leave my legacy,
I overcame all kinds of fears blessed by my poetry.

I made folks laugh, and made folks smile, and made some think anew,
I even went the extra mile, for poets just like you.
And yet your choice arrives each day, as strange as that may seem,
To write a poem on your way, if that is still your dream.
A little time and energy, a portion of God's grace,
A prayer for poems yet to be so poems can take place.
The challenge to explore, my friend, is all you seem to need,
Just read the poems that I've penned, as they helped me succeed.
I'm proof enough of what could be, with each new verse I get,
And poems that were on TV and now the Internet.


Denis Martindale. October 2020.