My favorite poems are what I call story poems. Some people refer to them as narrative poems. A narrative poem is a longer form of poetry that tells an entire story. There are different types of narrative poetry. Epics, Ballads, and Arthurian Romances are examples of narrative poetry. The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Oscar Wilde, and The Cremation of Sam McGee, Robert W. Service are three examples.
Casey at the Bat, Ernest Lawrence Thayer, Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss, and A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas the Night Before Christmas), Clement Clarke Moore are some of my favorites. I remember these poems from my childhood and probably why I still love them today.
In the past, I’ve tried my hand at writing story poems. One could argue that most my poems tell a story, but I don’t consider my shorter poems story poems. “The Kind Man” I call a story poem.
The Kind Man
Joe sat in his gloomy, dark cell,
staring at the black walls of stone,
when a recurring thought of her
reminded him he was alone.
Because she no longer loved him
Joe felt like he had lost all hope.
He snatched a dirty sheet off his bunk,
to carefully fashion a rope.
But before taking such drastic measures,
Joe needed to know for sure.
Perhaps she cared enough to write,
and then maybe his heart could endure.
So, he waited day after day,
as the long months slowly passed by.
At the end of each wretched night
Joe had found more reasons to die,
’cause not only did she not write,
his friends were also long gone.
When the mail passed by his cell
Joe had not a letter, not one.
Feeling forgotten and all alone,
Joe no longer wanted to wait.
A calendar hung on the wall;
he decided to choose a date.
It was the month of December.
Christmas day was a week away.
Joe thought, “I’ll help them remember,”
and he circled the 25th day.
With the holiday forthcoming,
never once did Joe have a doubt.
The best time to fulfill his wish
was 10 p.m. after lights out.
Joe went about his business,
as the chosen day arrived.
Nobody had the slightest clue
that soon he would not be alive.
Joe walked into the dining hall
and then settled down to eat his chow.
Suddenly he heard a voice say,
“You can go to heaven, know how?”
Joe looked up from his half-eaten meal,
and sitting straight across from him
was a kind man who spoke the words;
once again he repeated them.
“You can go to heaven, know how?”
he remarked with a peaceful smile.
“If you’re interested at all,
church starts in a little while.”
Joe nodded with a solemn frown,
knowing all the bad he’d done.
Then asked, “Will you be at the service?”
The man said, “I never miss one!”
The kind man rose and added,
“Make sure that you’re not late,
they’re having a birthday party,
and the celebration starts at eight.”
Joe rushed back to his dreary cell,
stretched out upon the harsh bed,
and could not stop thinking about
everything the kind man had said.
It was unusual, he thought,
“I’ve never seen the man before,”
but still he decided he’d go,
it was an invite he could not ignore.
At 8 p.m. Joe strolled into church
and started to look around
for the friend he’d met earlier,
yet he was nowhere to be found.
Disappointment set in again
because the kind man was not there.
A disheartened Joe marched to the back,
found refuge in an empty chair.
Frustrated, he wanted to leave
before the service was to start,
but the music started playing
to the depths of Joe’s sullen heart.
As the sweet melody succumbed,
a man stood up, called Preacher Dave,
who began telling the story
of a brave baby, born to save.
When this precious child matured
he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind,
and courageously died on the cross
for the sins of all of mankind.
All can come to Him in prayer
for the forgiveness of all sin.
If they would open up their hearts
a loving Savior would come in.
The most wonderful thing Joe heard,
about learning how to be set free.
One day he could go to heaven,
and live for all eternity!
The story was so interesting,
enthralling Joe’s full attention.
When Preacher Dave finished preaching
he gave out an invitation.
Gradually, Joe worked up the courage,
although he was afraid,
stepped forward to accept Jesus,
the wisest choice he ever made.
After the service was over
an inmate handed Dave a gift
and announced, “Merry Christmas, Preacher,
I hope it gives your heart a lift!”
It was a portrait of Jesus that
the inmate proudly painted.
When the pleased preacher held it up
a shocked Joe nearly fainted.
For the image stroked on canvas,
in the inmate’s own style,
was no other than Joe’s Kind Man,
wearing an ever-peaceful smile
© David Ritter
Links to other poems that I’ve written that I call fictional story poems
The Plan -A young couple plans on getting married until something goes wrong.
Mountain Joe -A baseball player hopes to make it to the Major Leagues.
A Lesson Learned – A teacher tries to teach a student a lesson about lying.
Mean Halloween -Warning may scare some more than others!
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Love this poem..thank you
Thank you