Detecting Our Heritage! Poem by Denis Martindale

God grants the wisdom to look back, to study distant things,
To wander off the beaten track in search of ancient kings.
To study maps and newfound sites and covet treasures lost,
Yet chief of all these sweet delights goes far beyond the cost.
For knowledge gained expands our hearts, not just our minds alone,
With secrets that the past imparts beneath each rock and stone.
No stone unturned, that's how it seems, yet courtesy still guides,
No point in striving for one's dreams, if greed then overrides.
Man's heritage comes with a price, the buildings and the lands,
Sometimes to plead some sacrifice, sometimes to plead new plans.
So restorations lead the way, reviving histories,
Conserving for a brand new day, perhaps for centuries.
Metal detectors are employed by those who hope to find
Some trinket that can be enjoyed, gold coins still on the mind.
But gold and silver have I none, nor do I fret for such,
You see, my quest has just begun, my heritage to touch.
God's treasure troves I may not own, but my heart doesn't care,
For all God's blessings I have known, I find them everywhere.
I stay the seeker for this cause, to leave some legacy,
Despite Man's sins, despite Man's flaws, I love humanity!


Denis Martindale, copyright August 2015.


The poem helps to remind me of the film called
'The Raiders of the Lost Ark' as well as the
modern tales in the TV series called 'Relic Hunter',
yet also of anyone who goes exploring and who
truly seeks to cherish the heritage of the past...