The snow fell slowly…
the snow fell deep…
the snow fell quietly…
the snow fell so peacefully
that while I was watching it
I drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, as I looked out
at the blue sky above
and at the white snow below,
I felt like I was a child
and I wanted to go outside
and walk in the snow –
and that is exactly what I did:
I put on my walking boots,
my coat, my scarf, and I threw
my rucksack on to my back
and I set out, one step at a time,
to explore the frozen beauty of nature
and the wonderful sights
that most of the time remain hid
before it was too late –
because even in nature things
are not always meant to last.
The sound of the snow cracking beneath
the soles of my boots was invigorating –
most likely because the sound of my own
footsteps was all that I could hear…
the way that the crystallised snow
sparkled and glistened as the sun
shined upon the pure white path
before me was dreamlike –
untouched, vast, like being within
a moment of time in which
there was no beginning and no end:
like staring at an eternal representation
of life and nature and feeling so moved
by this overwhelming and profound landscape;
and yet, even though I wanted to cry,
I was unable to conjure any tears –
I instead choose to close my eyes,
to breathe in and to breathe out,
to smile from ear to ear,
and to feel more blessed
that I had felt for years.
My heart goes out to everybody who is having to adapt to doing things and to living their life as best as they can in a vastly different way than they had previously known how to since all of the restrictions put upon their interactions, the way that they shop, how they work, and how they learn were introduced in order to combat against an unseen and an easily transmissible enemy that has seemingly brought the modern world to a stand still.
My heart goes out to parents, because most of them have had to adapt to becoming not only their child’s guardian and around the clock source of entertainment, but they have also had to become their child’s tutor and home school teacher – and in most cases parents are struggling to be all the things that their child needs them to be all of the time, while perhaps also simultaneously having to juggle the responsibility of being a supportive partner.
My heart goes out to the children of this generation who want to learn and who dream of becoming something and someone with a calling and a purpose in life to be fulfilled… my heart goes out to those families who are having to share their one and only means of accessing the Internet and those who are having to take it in turns to seek out some kind of escapism from the stark reality of world events in any way that they can.
One thing that is undeniable is that life is hard for people right now, and the world, unfortunately, seems more fragmented than ever; however, whenever I see new art being created, whenever I hear of new music being shared, whenever I find out about new innovations that are being made, whenever I look beyond the shores of my island home, I am reminded of how resilient the human spirit is – which is why I do not stop myself from believing that with a little time, patience, and perseverance the human race will one day collectively come out from the shadow of this dark era more resolute than ever, stronger than ever, consistently riding the waves of change, because we have always been a species who no matter what has always found a way.
On January 10, 2016, I wrote a poem called “Always the Starman” dedicated to the late great David Bowie who died on that very day in 2016 – and I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard of his untimely passing, and I can still remember being immediately inspired to mark the memory of one of the most famous and celebrated music artists of the 20th Century – and two days later I published the poem that I wrote on my blog for all the world to read so that they may get a sense of just how inspirational David Bowie was and still is.
Not long after David Bowie’s death, I remember that I was writing a new short story called “The Man In Black” about this mysterious character – who I didn’t truly know the identity of, nor why they were so mysterious… all I knew at that point was that whoever they were they dressed all in black, they had mysterious and powerful gifts that enabled them to appear one minute and disappear the next, they could bring animals and perhaps people back to life, and they may or may not be some kind of angel or some other supernatural being. And something else that I knew immediately was that whoever this mysterious “man in black” was he also bore an uncanny resemblance to the late great David Bowie, as some sort of tribute to him. But that was it. I originally intended to include my short story “The Man in Black” in my 2016 short story collection “Too Close To The Sun”, however for some reason I held it back… and to this day I still do not know why, what, or who stopped me from doing so – but I am so glad that they did, because from that first story there followed others that featured the same “Man in Black” who at times was known to white also depending upon when you met him. And slowly but surely I wrote more and more, until I finally found myself with seven short stories that explored who the “Man in Black/Man in White” was and why he did what he did. And to this day the stories of my short story collection “Playing God” still remain close to my heart, because within them are characters who I know and who I recognise: characters in need of being saved by a hero, a friend, a rebel, an angel, a god dressed all in black, and sometimes dressed all in white – someone who we would all wish would pay us a visit and heal the world of the present from what we are currently being plagued by.
I wrote my original poem “Always the Starman” and “The Man in Black”, the first story of my book “Playing God”, as a personal tribute to David Bowie – but the more stories that I wrote about this mysterious man who looked and sounded just like David Bowie, I also found myself uncovering many different sources of inspiration – from ancient Greek mythology to the daily torments that some people have to deal with – and I also found myself learning more about why I love writing so much: that thrill of exploration and discovery that I find every time I embark upon a writing challenge that I know will take me to places that I never imagined I would ever venture to. And that is what it is so enthralling and exciting about being a writer and an author of fiction: you never know where it is going to take you.
I will always be eternally grateful to the late great David Bowie for his music, for his creativity, and for the gift of inspiration that he gave to me – which coalesced over time into becoming a book of stories written in tribute to him, but also a tribute to hope, optimism and the gift of life that we are all blessed with which we all sometimes take for granted.
On Christmas evening,
as my family and I gathered together
around the hearth of our burning fire,
while enjoying some family time with one another,
I knew that after this day
nothing would ever be the same again
and we would never again
be able do this in the same way:
enjoy a Christmas meal together,
pull crackers with one another,
sit watching a favourite Christmas film of ours –
because what is going to happen next
will be unlike anything that either of us
have felt, heard, or seen before.
Every moment is unique,
every family has their own story,
every new day is a new dawn,
every time you wake up every day
we all have to reset the clock –
just as every player has to do the same
after they move a piece on a chessboard –
and adapt to whatever life has in store:
all the twists, the turns, the corners,
and the constant lessons that we
have to learn from like the constant
students of life’s school that we are.
Next year will be both the end
of one long chapter as well as
the beginning of another stage in life
that will impact so many peoples’ fate…
very soon there will be a sea change
and all predictions of the future
that have been shared will have to be remade;
however, even though I know
some things will be different,
I know now more than ever
that my family and I will always
have an unbreakable bond between us
that is unlike any other in so many
phenomenal and wonderful ways.
When you are a child there is no more magical and joyful moment of your life than around Christmas time when you get to write a letter to a man in a red suit, with a white beard, who on Christmas day will deliver all that you have been asking for for perhaps all of the previous months of the year – and with a high degree of certainty there could be no one more popular than the ever jovial Father Christmas/ Santa Claus/Saint Nicholas himself who children dream about, write to, and draw pictures of, as well as his ever present reindeer and his trusted elves.
Christmas is for everybody… Christmas is full of positivity, possibilities, and you truly start to get into the Christmas spirit as soon as you start to hang the decorations upon your newly bought, or perhaps your perennially rediscovered, Christmas tree… Christmas is a season for hope, optimism, friendship and family… Christmas is when people need other people more than anything – and the greatest gift that you can give anybody is your time, because not only is time precious but it is also free.
Christmas time can sometimes be hard – even when their isn’t a dark cloud hovering over every one in every country – and so many people do not have the opportunity to be with somebody on December the 25th, which is why everybody young and old need to remind themselves why it is important to be there for those who we are blessed to know as well as for those who may not know and who may live on their own.
Christmas time should be hopeful and without fears and tears… Christmas time should be about showing love, as well as about being happy and merry while listening to Christmas songs that have endured for years… Christmas time is a wonderful time that is capable of making anybody of any age feel as if they are a child… Christmas time is a whirlwind of emotions at the best of times, however when people are at their most in need of something and someone to believe in they can look no further than to whomever matters the most to them to give them the gift of a Christmas star to enlighten and to signal that even on the darkest of nights there is always hope.
Get your copy of my book ‘Playing God’ – featuring the Christmas story “The Man In Red” – online in paperback and as an ebook from Amazon: https://amzn.to/383gsII
Even when it is cold and wet
I like to get out of bed,
I like to get dressed,
and I like take a walk in the elements –
because just as when the weather
is fine and dry I enjoy nothing more
than being exposed to whatever
emanates unabated from the sky,
whether that is raindrops or golden sunshine…
my secret to not feeling cold,
as the wind around me whistles and howls,
is to keep going and to not stop
until I see, until I hear,
and until I feel as if
I have experienced moments
and instances that have imprinted
upon me and have left me inspired.
I live every day under the curse
of the imagination of a dreamer…
I live every day with the gift
of the eternal poet within my soul…
I live every day seeing the silver lining
around so many clouds filled
with lightning and thunder…
I live every day believing that
if we all stay upon the road
that is our sometimes up and down life
we will all one day arrive somewhere,
with something, or with someone,
that we will always want to have
and to hold and never let go of.
It can’t always be sunny…
life can’t always make sense…
the people whom we meet in life
can’t always be as sweet honey…
life can’t always be about pounds
and pence, or dollars and cents –
because what life is really all about
can only be found when you set out
and when you choose to be exposed
to the world and all of its elements.
I am different…
you are different…
everybody is different –
and yet we are all the same,
which I think is absolutely amazing!
I am on a different path,
you are in a different lane –
and yet so many people
find themselves at the same
moment of crossroads
when and where there is a vital
transference of knowledge and energy,
which can feel electrifying!
I am experiencing what I see
and what I feel around me personally,
you are interpreting everything
like only you can –
and yet when there is the discovery
of a breakthrough of life-changing proportions
people from all around the world
can gather together and herald
the arrival of yet another game-changer
in how we all live our lives.
I have never stopped being
in awe of the power and the poetry
of the universe that we can see
and measure with our own eyes
and with some of the instruments
that we have invented;
however, I know that all the secrets of existence
may never be known –
which is fine by me,
because there is more to be gained
by investigating the source of a riddle
than the eventual reveal of a mystery.
I understand the draw to explore…
I agree that we need to colonize
other worlds in order to know
more about the diversity of life
throughout the universe of galaxies…
I do not dispute that there are
other planets with other civilizations
living and thriving on them…
I would gladly take a ticket to ride
upon a rocket into orbit
or aboard a starship at warp-speed
to another part of the Milky Way galaxy –
but I do think that we all need to
look around at this world
that we live upon once in a while,
our home, and realize that right now
this is all that we have, this is who we are,
and if we could all just choose
to stop making so much of our
societies revolve around
corruption and greed
then everybody could have it all
because here on Earth
we have everything that
we could possibly need.
With every leaf that falls, with every moment that passes, with every word that is spoken, each of us always want more: more time with certain people, more things to enjoy, more experiences to one day recall, more gifts of the life that we have been given – because the world is not enough, because the universe is constantly changing and evolving, and we all want to be there when the next quantum leap in something becomes an every day thing.
With every year that seemingly flies by, I am reminded of just how precious every word, every smile, every touch, every look into the eye of someone who matters to me is, because what we have with people has an end time – not in an emotional sense, but most definitely in a physical sense – which is why as I get older I consider people of significance to me as if they were flowers, butterflies, or fireflies, because the indefinable colours and the spark of life that makes somebody who and what they are transitions over time into becoming something entirely different.
With every new season, we see changes in colour, we see changes in light, we see changes in perspective, and we see changes in our perception of time: as some people get older a new day’s sunrise and a sunset seemingly happens within the blink of an eye of one another and days can be experienced as if they were minutes or hours – which is why I believe now more than ever what has been told to me all my life: never forget where you came from nor what the cost was for you to have who and what you have in your life – because, when you think of it, everything means something.
Where once there was many
now there are few…
where once there was darkness
now there is the promise
of something hopeful and brand new…
where once there was hate and fear
now there is the light of love
to usher in a new day of healing…
where once there was tyranny
now there is the arrival
of why it is always important
to never stop believing…
where once there was division
now there is a message of unity
for people who want peace and prosperity
to spread across the world
and out amongst the stars…
where once there were daily attacks
now the suvivors who did not
give up continue to walk tall
and seek to mend those who
now wear deeply embedded battle-scars..
where once there was lies
now there is truth to be found
in a myriad of ways…
where once there was indecision
now there is a symbol and an example
of why it is important
to always keep the faith.
markthepoet.me 