High Spirits Poem by Denis Martindale

High spirits made the zebra leap,
For joy within his soul
Was something precious he could keep,
If he let slip control...
Within a crowd, where he felt safe,
No tension spoilt his day...
And in these moments, living faith
Cast all his doubts away...
Now like a child, he kicked up dust!
His front legs rode thin air!
Safety in numbers caused such trust,
So he shook off each care!
The zebras laughed like zebras do...
They cackled one-by-one...
Although this wasn't something new,
Unshackled fears brought fun!
Some others copied what he did!
Like each of them agreed...
With joy of life no longer hid,
Their joy was joy indeed!
If only we could imitate
The zebra now and then,
We'd learn life's here to celebrate,
For death comes, who knows when?
It's why we often hum a tune
With half-remembered words...
Or stare at stars beyond the moon
Or whistle back at birds...
High spirits come and go, my friend...
It's not as if they're planned...
But when they come, on this depend,
You'll love Love's Wonderland!


The poem is based on the magnificent painting
by Stephen Gayford called 'High Spirits'.