The Poetry Teacher Poem by Denis Martindale

He stood before the class again,
The book held high to read,
Reciting things beyond our ken,
To help us to succeed…
So off he went and in full flow
Though words fell to the ground,
For we refrained such thoughts to know
As he cast these around…

Yet that time was a different time,
The ring of truth was heard,
Within each phrase, each line, each rhyme,
Each rhythm and each word…
And all at once, we fell in love,
The whole class on that day,
Because this poem rose above
What words could merely say…

For like a prayer, once sung in Church,
That resonates with joys,
There, in that reading, came a surge,
As each one made a choice…
Thus poetry came to our hearts
And not just to our ears,
Because that's how rhyme's magic starts
And transcends all these years…

For even now, with decades done,
I pause for poetry,
Though nothing's new beneath the sun,
There's magic still to see…
And I write, too, to share my verse
Across the whole world wide,
So that, through me, new magic stirs
Your precious hearts inside…

For you have hearts that beat like mine
That seek a noble light,
A revelation so divine
It grants us great insight
And goes beyond all hopes expressed,
All dreams and schemes and plans,
To help us strive to do our best
When each one understands…

That's why I paused to write these thoughts,
Though school was long ago,
No more exams, no more reports,
No homework to and fro,
Just winsome magic here and there,
A legacy to leave,
So poetry's shared everywhere
A blessed heart can receive…


Denis Martindale May 2016.