What Is Poetry To You? Poem by Denis Martindale

Friends, what is poetry to you, that you should write or read?
Reflecting on each point of view, perchance that you should heed?
Or editing that you enhance, correcting here and there,
To grant each verse a second chance, till soon beyond compare?
Or praying publication brings a whole new lease of life,
As if your words reach out to kings... as if to end their strife?
Or bless the common man as well, the student still in School,
The little child who learns to spell and hopes your words are cool?

Yet God created you to learn and share what you have learned
And so to poems you should turn, where truths may be discerned...
Variety that never ends, poetry in all styles,
The elegance of eloquence, the limerick for smiles...
The sonnet for romantic hearts, free verse transcending rhyme,
The epic saga that imparts a message quite sublime...
King Arthur and the Holy Grail, a quest worth more than gold,
A witty, winsome, charming tale, a parable Christ told...

A prophecy of future years, some sage advice to bless...
A mystery that never clears, confounding happiness...
A nonsense rhyme with made-up words, or pop song full of love,
A complex classic meant for nerds... or none of the above...
Who knows your final destiny? Yet only God keeps score...
I only know that poetry is how God gives us more...
So write and read, for both are great... when wise words we pursue...
And while MY poems are FIRST RATE... what is poetry to YOU! ?


Denis Martindale August 2019.