When I Fall In Love! Poem by Denis Martindale

'Who has proved the greatest poet? '
I prayed and asked the Lord,
For I sensed that few could know it,
But then I felt ignored...
That was because no answer came
To whisper to my ears,
As though refused to learn the name,
The best of all the years...

So I pressed on, to read some books
And then anthologies...
And to some poems, gave strange looks,
Because I'm hard to please...
I studied Scriptures from the past
And Anglo-Saxon, too,
Renaissance rhythms slow and fast,
Reciting quite a few...

Then I explored the love songs penned
From decades long ago,
As if each song was like a friend,
The kind you'd like to know...
And pretty soon, a precious tune
Was called to mind once more
And how I spent one afternoon
Its meanings to explore...

The record that I chose to play,
Was 'When I Fall In Love',
With simple words meant to relay,
One dream that proves enough...
When love's returned and two hearts share
A wondrous harmony
And Nat King Cole, so debonair,
To me, that's poetry...

Beyond this lyric, tune and voice,
No other verses shine,
And this would be the perfect choice,
For my own Valentine...
It's why I also sing along
And imitate that style,
Because I truly love that song,
The song that makes me smile...


Denis Martindale,15 March 2016.