We are currently living
in an increasing contactless world…
we are currently being forced
to keep at a distance away from
our family members, our friends,
our places of work, our purpose,
and we are being told that we may
all have to adjust to living in
this new and contactless life –
at least in a physical way of speaking –
for the foreseeable future…
we are all now living in a world
and at a time when seeing people
walking around wearing face-masks,
plastic gloves, and while consistently
administering hand-sanitizer
to themselves is an every-day thing…
we are all now living in the here
and in the now of having to
become sedentary individuals
who cannot congregate and be seen
to be socializing in public…
we are all now living, breathing,
and having to force ourselves
into the realization that what we used
to take for granted so much –
our own individual freedom
to be able to choose our own actions
and our own destinations –
has been temporarily impaired and curtailed
and the governments of our particular countries
are calling all the shots and telling us
what we need to be doing in order
to maintain some kind of wellbeing
for the people of the present
as well as those yet to be born…
we may all need to self-isolate
ourselves physically,
but that does not mean that we need
to self-isolate ourselves
from the rest of the world –
in fact, I would say that it is more
vital and necessary than ever
to stay connected to our network
of family, friends, and acquaintances
who live around the globe who
know exactly what each and every one of us
are all going through
for each of our own personal mental health;
because if what we must refrain
from touching and showing
physical forms of affection
that does not mean that we have to be
anti-social and stay contactless
in every sense of the word.
Year: 2020
My Poem “I Live In Hope”
At this very moment,
as I look outside my window,
all is quiet, all is still;
however, when I turn on my television,
it feels like the whole world
has been quarantined,
because so many people
have been stricken by an invisible contagion –
while those who have not yet been infected
are asking themselves if they,
or a member of their family,
will soon be forced into isolation
because they are the most likely
to be taken ill.
It is an unfortunate time of fear,
of single-mindedness, and of selfishness –
because some people are acting as if
the end of the world was on the horizon,
and though this newly discovered and fast-
spreading virus is definitely something
to be taken seriously,
I think that we should all be worrying
more about the most vulnerable
and the least immobile of the people
of the world rather than just bunkering
ourselves away and hoping that
people who can’t help themselves will be ok.
The Coronavirus, Covid-19,
has effected the entire world,
and so many countries and people
have been cut off from the rest of the world
until the worst of this world wide crisis
has passed;
however, the worst thing about all that is happening,
all that has happened, and the constantly
rising count of how many people
are now infected and how many people
have died as a result of the Coronavirus,
is that most of us are powerless
in our ability to effect the course of this crisis
and all that we can do is wash our hands,
be mindful of our own potential symptoms,
and to keep physical interactions
with other people at a minimum –
but I cannot help but think that all of this
could have been avoided if when
this new virus started to become more
prevalent and virulent
certain people had chosen to inform
everybody around the world
as to the severity of what was rising,
the potential of what was spreading,
and what should have been contained
at its initial source of detection.
I hope everybody is safe…
I hope the majority of people
will be well again soon
and they will be able the fight
their way through this new threat…
I hope that this disastrous new virus
can be stopped in its tracks
before even more people die
as a result of being infected by it…
I hope people continue to be mindful
of themselves and of the needs
of others who are the most at need…
I hope that the whole world can
come together, to be with one another
via all the means that we have they days
so that we can all help one another
to ride out the tumultuous waves of the day
and find a way through this troubling
time of isolation, of contraction,
to a place of eventual recovery,
that this time of pandemic pandemonium
has forced us all into…
as always, I live in hope.
My Poem “The Individual”
Some seasons are easier
to get through than others…
some periods in our lives
are easier to ride out than others…
some days are more eventful than others…
some people are more comfortable
being themselves when they feel
like they have nothing to prove,
no one to prove anything to,
and no one to be other than
a friend, or a brother,
or a sister, or a son, or a daughter,
or a lover, or just someone
who will listen to someone else
who needs nothing more than
to be heard, to be understood,
and to be given the opportunity
by another person to let
themselves breath and be seen
without any kind of a mask,
a façade, or a filter.
People love being free…
freedom means everything
to those who appreciate
and understand why being
free is such a gift,
because for some people
around the world freedom is not guaranteed…
being free to believe
what you want to believe,
being free to do what you want to do,
being free to say what you want to say
has been restricted in some parts
of the world because some people
have misused it, they have abused it,
and they have taken it for granted…
being given the opportunity
to be able to live, to breath,
to see, and to enjoy the natural gift
of infinite wonders that is our beautiful planet
is something that so many people
do not choose to recognise
until someone is awakened
to a particular vision that opens up
a door within them that leads
to a part of them that can grasp
what nature has been constantly
trying to tell them and show them.
Ignorance of something or someone
is one of the most important
components in spreading fear –
which is why ignorance and ignorant people
are usually the most uneducated of people
because they actively and deliberately
choose to switch off from what is happening
to other people and would rather
live in a bubble in which their version
of the world is all that matters.
We all live in one of the most
interconnected times in human history –
and yet there are still people
who choose to not see things
from another person’s just as valid
and perhaps opposing point of view
just in case they find out
that there is more common ground
than is believed possible,
which is why meeting people
who live completely different
lives from you is important in
gaining a more fuller world view
and to discover new and valid ideas
that they never knew…
there are always multiple sides
to an argument, to a story,
to a people, to a country –
and it is the responsibility
of all free thinking people
to be progressive enough,
to be evolved enough,
to be individualistic enough
to take everything as it comes to them and to strive to be uniquely themselves
instead of just being predictable
and never stopping to think, to do,
nor to be anything, or anybody,
other than one of a crowd.
My Poem “The World Book”
The layers of our world
are like the infinite pages
of a book of stories, secrets,
truths, colours, and characters
that is so vast and epic in scale
and in depth that if it were
not already a planet
it would need to be as big
as the Earth is in order
to capture and to understand
the mysterious, the thrilling,
the poetic, the dramatic,
the suspenseful,
the often unbelievable
and the unpredictable
world that we live in
and which we all have our own
opinion of concerning where it all began,
where we are, and where are collective
story will ultimately one day take us.
Most things in this world
have a system to them
that are as predictable
and occur as regular as clockwork;
however, because of several
outside influences,
some twists and turns in every journey
require everything and everyone
to adapt to what they find themselves facing
and become a chameleon of the times
that they find themselves living in.
Some things will always change,
some things will stay the same –
but no matter what anybody does
or doesn’t do
this world will keep turning
and creating new life,
because this world was once blessed
by the light of creation of our mutual sun
and the most important star
in our sky that has never
stopped shining down upon us.
This universe of galaxies, of stars,
of planets, of rock, of gases,
of matter, and of energy
that we do not yet fully understand
the behaviour of but we have,
of course, already given a name to,
is the beginning, it is life,
it is everything,
it is where things makes sense,
it is where we are still learning
every nuance and characteristic of
and the reason for its ultimate existence.
Everybody in this universe –
especially those of us here on Earth –
are a blessed and gifted storytellers,
even if they don’t already know they are,
and each with their own story and version
of reality to interpret and to convey;
because it is in the nature of everything,
in everybody, in every atom,
in every consciousness,
in every thought, in every instinct,
in every idea to be it’s best self,
but since we all mostly have a choice
in what direction we will choose to take
the path, the actions, and the outcome
of everyone’s life can only be uniquely theirs
and no one else’s –
which can be a source of confusion for some people;
however, when you really think about it,
life on any kind of scale is not meant
to be fully understood
but each of us naturally have our own
beliefs and thoughts about why things
are the way that they are,
why some things will always turn out
the way that they always have done,
and what is it about all the stories
ever told, retold, and reinterpreted
that just fits perfectly into the vast library,
that when seen from space
is spherical in appearance,
that has a name, “Earth”,
and which will eternally be
the title of the book that is our world.
My Poem “The Ambivert”
Everybody is a slightly different person
from one day to the next….
everybody occasionally experiences
days, minutes, moments
when they feel like they
want to be left alone
with their own thoughts,
feelings, memories, and emotions…
some people are more productive
and they excel at what they like to do
when they are left to focus
on what is right in front of them,
and there are some people who
like to work as part of a team
and explore a problem with
a collective mentality –
and then there are those who are like me:
who are neither exclusively an introvert
or an extrovert,
who like to dabble on both sides
of the line that sometimes differentiates
people and how they choose to behave
and express how they feel
as a result of what they may have heard,
what they think, or perhaps what they see.
Ambiverts, like me, enjoy living
both a life of peace, solace,
deep reflection, and occasional solitude,
as well as the experience
of getting out the house
and exploring the sometimes
challenging and chaotic places
where there is a mass of humanity
who are all more than likely
strangers to one another
but who all have so much
in common with each other –
among which being: the gift to be able
to comfortably be amongst
a metropolis of people
and not feel uneasy about
where they are, what might happen,
nor who they may interact with.
So many real world events have turned
so many extroverts into introverts
and so many introverts into extroverts –
especially those events that have had
such an impact that the effects from which
have reverberated all around the world…
there are very few people
in this modern world
who live a life removed from
the actions of others –
you would have to be a monk living out
a vow of isolation to not be influenced
by the noise of the technologically
obsessed nations of the world;
however, even someone whose life
is dedicated to a higher purpose
these days has also had to adapt
to the practice of connecting with people
in many forms of communication.
I like having my own time to think,
to remember, to write,
and to express myself through my art –
however, I do also gain
a great deal of inspiration
and insight about the world
from being around people,
from being amongst nature,
from being someone without
a specific thing to do,
and without there being a specific
place that I need to be,
at a specific time,
when I can be what comes
naturally to me: an ambivert.
My Poem “Train of Thought”
It’s never too late
to start doing something…
it’s never too late in the game
to change what you are already doing…
it’s never too late
to start behaving differently…
it’s never too late
to learn from your mistakes
and to make use of what you have learned –
because it is the act of being
transformed by what you may have seen,
felt, heard, and experienced
that is at the heart
of all forms of poetry.
There is no way to know everything,
there is no way to see everything,
there is no way to go everywhere –
but there is always a way and a time
to try your hand, to use your mind,
to feel with your heart
and with your soul at doing something
and give it all that you can,
if you are willing to live your life
as if by the roll of a dice
and choose to do as you dare.
It is in our nature as human beings
to want to learn and to explore…
it is an intrinsic motivation of many
to seek out, to share, to live,
and to implore others to follow
their lead and attempt to find
an outlet to drive the reasons
for all the choices that they make…
it is in all of our nature
to want what is best for ourselves
as well as for those around us
and to communicate our true intentions
to those who matter the most to us
before it is too late…
it is in the collective psyche
of humanity to want to be
free of judgement, anguish, and pain.
It is by following that voice,
that draw, that gravity, that call
that awakes us sometimes
in the middle of the night
that compels so many people
to make real and personify
their dreams in order to prove
to ourselves and the world
that though we may not all
think the same way all the time
we all have so much to gain
from occasionally switching lanes
in the way that we believe things are
and sometimes taking a chance
on a stream of consciousness
and stepping outside
of the frame of confinement
and by leaving the carriage
of the ordinary and the every
train of thought.
My Poem “Storm before the Calm”
Sometimes life can seem
uncontrollable…
sometimes life can feel
like it is literally
sweeping you off your feet…
sometimes life can seem
like it is hitting you
where you hurt the most…
sometimes life can feel
like you are riding out
a storm on a boat being
tossed around by the rising
and falling waves of an ocean
as an unstoppable force
tries to pull you deep beneath.
There are times in everyone’s life
when we all feel struck down
by either illness or by circumstances
and we feel unable to pick ourselves
back up without a helping hand
to aid us, to keep us going,
to tell us that we are
going to be alright,
and that no matter how dark
the clouds above might seem
there will come an instance
when the sun will break through
and herald a blue sky
of new possibilities to be
drawn to and hypnotized by.
When things seemingly come
from out of nowhere
it can at first feel scary,
confusing, and like you are
never going to overcome
and get through whatever
is plaguing you;
however, following every time
of uncertainty, sickness, or incapacity,
anyone can eventually find a way
to move past those moments of alarm
and find refuge somewhere,
or by doing something,
to weather the storms that they
find themselves within,
and in time find a sense of peace,
prosperity, and calm.
My Poem “Say No To Dystopia”
When I woke up this morning,
in my mind I felt like I had travelled
back in time to the year 1989 –
over thirty years in the past –
to a time in my life
when I began to become absolutely fascinated
by films and TV shows that depicted
what life would look like thirty years,
a hundred years, a thousand years in the future;
and this morning, while watching
a film called ‘Millennium’ –
a movie that centred around
the prospect and the concept
of time travellers travelling
back and forth in time
to save people before they died
and transporting them into the future –
I realized that almost thirty years before,
as a child, I was most likely watching
the same film that I was watching now on DVD
back then on VHS tape,
and while just as completely
enthralled now as I was by
what I saw depicted back then
I realise now that at the time
I did not fully understand what
the film trying to say.
Every film, every TV show, every book
whose story takes place
in a future setting and at a future time
always attempts to predict an accurate
depiction of how the world of tomorrow
will look, sound, feel,
and what the life of our descendants
will be like based upon an extrapolation
of the direction that some things
seem to be logically taking –
such as technology, fashion,
and the way that people treat one another –
and sometimes the world to come
is predicted to be one of hope, optimism,
universal understanding
and peaceful coexistence,
while some cautionary tales
predict that we may all be slowly
but surely spiralling into a world
that can only be described as being
dystopian
in which the children of tomorrow
have to live a hard and painful life
because of the short term actions
and mistakes of our present
which to them would be perceived
as their past.
Science Fiction writers and futurists
have been trying to warn people
what the future might be like,
and what the future world might
look like, if we – humanity –
do not stop and take a good, long,
and deep look at ourselves
while asking ourselves
where we are going wrong
and what we can do to build a better
world to leave for future generations
to be thankful for.
At this moment in time,
it sometimes feels like the world
is teetering on the edge of a precipice
from which there will be no coming back from:
a potential future that has been prophesied about
in science fiction tales for almost
a hundred years –
from H.G. Wells’ ‘The Time Machine’
to films like ‘Waterworld’ ‘Mad Max’,
‘The Matrix’, ‘Blade runner’,
and ‘The Terminator’ movies,
which all depict possible versions of our world
and a dark vision of the future
in which Earth’s natural resources
are in short supply or have been completely depleted entirely
and humanity is mostly living a day to day existence of not always knowing
how they are going to survive
and if it is possible for them to leave
a legacy going forwards that generations
to come will be proud of.
Humanity always has a choice
about which direction they want to go
in terms of technological interdependency,
the destruction of the natural world,
and the way they we take
what we have for granted –
and time will definitely tell
whether the predictions of those who either predict a positive version of the future
or those who predict a negative version of the future will ultimately be judged to be right;
however, what is as clear as a crystal ball
is that whatever happens in the future
to humanity and to the world around us,
every one of us are all the architects
of what has yet to come
and by influencing the people
in a position of power now
to want to give the gift of optimism
for the children of the future –
some who might not even be born yet –
we can be a part of making a potential
utopia by promising to keep
the predictions already made
of a potential world-wide armageddon
or an inevitable dystopia
tales of science fiction
that will never become a reality.
My Poem “Maelstrom”
Nature is always showing
its utter dominance
and its powerful influence over humanity…
the nature of the world
is constantly acting independent to,
and without any thought of,
how the after effects of its actions
will impact upon all of its inhabitants –
however, some inhabitants of the world
sometimes seemingly act
with just as much disregard
and impunity for how their actions
will ultimately impact upon nature.
When a huge storm rages
there always follows intolerable
damage, destruction, and loss,
and it can sometimes be hard
to pick up the pieces and recover
from what no one and nothing
has any control over –
namely the ever changing weather
and the cocktail of elelments
that all build up to such high levels
of instability and volatility
that they naturally have to create
and generate that which must be
expelled in order to once regain
a sense of order and stability.
Severe storms can literally
change the face of nature –
and so many meteorological phenomenon
have been observed and have
been carried out by nature
since the weather patterns of Earth
began to take shape,
and a long time before humanity
in any form rose to become a vital
and influential voice in the future
of our home planet
and how nature will treat
humanity as a response.
The influence that we have on nature,
the way that nature can influence us,
the equilibrium that we must have with nature
if we are to survive,
is fundamental and it must be recognised
and respected for being what it is:
namely the greatest example
of symbiosis that has ever been observed –
which is why we should all do
everything that we can to think about
why things are the way that they,
how humanity collectively effects
itself and the world that it is
lucky to call home
and all the gifts and the opportunities
that our little blue sphere affords
every form of life on this planet.
We all need to be more concerned
with where we are all going and why
before it is too late
to turn back the clock entirely,
and we must all do our part
to attempt to heal the wounds
that we have scarred nature with
before the high tides of the seas
that have been littered for years
with the fragments of lasting modernity
return to humanity a maelstrom
of their own making.
My Poem “Out of the darkness cometh the light”
Out of the darkness cometh the light…
when we move past moments
of pain and despair it is possible to find
exactly who and what we had been hoping
and praying would come into our life…
after we overcome periods of chaos and confusion
we can encounter signs and reasons
to not give up –
and when things can seem too much to handle,
and when you feel like no matter what you do
you can’t do anything right,
there always follows flashes of insight
that show you the way that you need to go
to bring order back to the world
and the torch of illumination
that you need to see
that no matter how black
the clouds that appear to be swirling
above your head might seem
out of the darkness
will one day cometh a light
that will make all that happened to you
feel like it needed to happen
so that you could once again
rest your head at night
and dream dreams of the beautiful,
the hopeful, the best, and the bright.
markthepoet.me 