Dave Madill

I have been asked many times what got me started writing poetry so I thought I would share the tale with you. It started in 1994 when I had a head injury, which caused partial memory loss and severe speech impairment. To communicate with my wife and children I was writing them short notes and to make it more fun for my kids I made them into short rhymes. I recovered and went back trucking and was in Calgary at the Blackfoot Truck Stop where I ran into an old friend who also happens to be a minister. While drinking coffee and telling lies with him and a couple of other drivers, I noticed a picture on the wall of a big truck going thru a storm with the hand of God protecting the truck. I mentioned the picture to my friend and suggested that he should write a sermon about that picture. He got up, walked over and looked at the picture, came back, sat down and stated, “Well, you are the storyteller, write me one and make it a poem.”

Several days later while waiting to get loaded I sat down and wrote my first real poem, The Big Rig. I now have written over 400 poems and every one is about something I have witnessed or is about something that has touched me in some way. Over the past couple of years I have been privileged by being allowed to share my work with the readers of Pro-Trucker and I can only hope that you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Now that you all know the tale, here is the poem that started it all.

The Big Rig
There’s a tale out on the highway, a legend I’ve been told
About a rig that’s made of silver, with wheels of solid gold
There’s crosses on the mud flaps, and if you look inside
Jesus does the driving with St. Peter by his side
I seen them once in Texas, and another time in Maine
Once on the roads of ice and snow, and another in rain
I know they took a side trip, just to help me find my road
And proudly I’ll go with them when I’ve pulled my final load
As I travel down life’s highway, I’ll do the best I can
I know that I’m not perfect; after all I’m just a man
I know that I’m not perfect, I’ve cheated and I’ve lied
But God he is forgiving and he knows that I’ve tried
I’ve cheated on my logbooks but God knows that’s no sin
With Jesus as my savior, I know they’ll let me in
So I’ll travel down life’s highway and when I pull that final mile
When Jesus stops to pick me up, I’ll greet him with a smile
I’ll ask if I can drive that rig, with the wheels of solid gold
He’ll toss me the keys and say, “My friend you’ve earned this load”
Then heavens gates will open wide, when they hear that air horn blast
And the final logbook entry reads, The trucker’s home at last

That Call

The Knight

The Last Real Cowboy

The Rookie