When you are a writer and an author,
you get used to thinking
"Fourth Dimensionally":
having the ability to be able to see
the beginning, the middle,
and the end of a story,
and having the gift to be able
to know all the intricacies
and interconnected threads
that bind the characters
of a story to one another...
when you are a storyteller,
you get used to seeing patterns
and figuring out narratives -
and you get to the reason
why people in your story
do what they do and why they are
the way that they are;
however, any writer will tell you
that sometimes you know
you are the one making things
happen in a story,
and sometimes you feel like you are not -
because sometimes a story
and it's characters take on a life of their own
and drive the narrative of a story
all by themselves...
as a writer, it helps to be
one step ahead of your characters
and purposefully put
certain things in place
to make sure a story stays
on the straight and narrow
and does not deviate from its path -
but sometimes when you are writing a story
something will happen within it
that will surprise you
and beg you to ask yourself:
"where did that come from?"
Being a writer is sometimes
like being a time traveler...
being a writer is sometimes
like being a literary god -
because to the world you are
writing, building, populating,
you are its creator...
being a writer is sometimes
like being given a license
to travel anywhere, anytime,
in any way that you want...
being a writer is sometimes
like being given the opportunity
to be a messenger of truth
and the reason for someone
to feel found and not lost.
Within the pages of a book,
within the images on a screen,
within the words of a song,
or within the notes of a musical theme,
time can be redefined for it audience -
because within literature, within light,
within colour, within art,
people perceive things differently...
within the world of fantasy
there is always an undertone of reality...
within every verse of poetry,
every word is necessary...
within the arc of a story,
reader, viewer, listener,
writer, artist, and musician
all collaborate to make
a world of possibilities what it is -
but sometimes what something
means isn't always front and centre
and as easily discernable
as some might hope it would be -
which is why, sometimes,
when you are enjoying something profound
it helps to not think too literally,
because some things exist
and are meant to be experienced
"fourth dimensionally".
art
My Poem “Train of Thought”
Waiting for an idea
is like waiting for a delivery to arrive,
but you have absolutely no clue
what you are about to receive...
waiting for an idea
is like being told that something
is about to happen,
but you aren't told
how, when, why, where, nor what...
waiting for an idea
is like waiting for a fish
to take hold of the baited-line
that you have cast out into the water...
waiting for an idea is sometimes fruitful,
but,
most of the time, waiting for an idea
is a fruitless endeavour -
because, sometimes, when ideas
feel like they are not coming to you
then you have to go wherever the ideas are:
up in the sky, under the water,
all around the world where life exists,
and where instances of wonder
happen more often than
what we are told to believe...
waiting for an idea
is like waiting for a bus
or a train to pick you up
and take you on a journey -
and sometimes you have to
accept the fact that inspiration
runs on an indefinable schedule,
and not the one you might want it to...
waiting for an idea
can be like standing on the edge
of something epic -
like the Grand Canyon -
and marvelling at what it takes
for something so breathtaking
and unique to come into being,
and then to throw a pebble below
and to not hear it fall -
that is when you can come to realise
what an idea is, and what it can take
for an idea to grow into what
it will ultimately become:
imagination, belief, trust,
and the ability to allow
your thoughts to run free
like a wild stallion,
and be ready for whatever
and wherever your train of thought
will take you.
My Poem “Pilgrimage”
We all know what it is like
to have the image of a person,
a place, or something in particular,
within our mind, that gifts us,
every time we think of them,
with a surge of energy,
enthusiasm, and power...
we all know what it is like
to be drawn to someone,
to somewhere, to something,
as if we were being pulled
towards them by a force like that of gravity,
to which we can believe
we are destined to go
so that something inside us
can be unlocked by using
them as if they were a key...
we all know the feeling of anticipation
that rises within us
when we start to get this instinct
that the time when we will one day
fulfil the promise of serendipity,
and make a dream come true,
and the voice of that which calls us
towards them, gets steadily louder...
we all know what it feels like
to be on a journey somewhere –
both familiar and unfamiliar –
and what it means to us
to return to somewhere special,
as well as to see something,
somewhere, that for so long
has seemed out of reach...
we all know what it takes
to do something that
we have never done before –
and sometimes we have to,
somehow, change how we think
about something in order
to be able to fully integrate
and interact with where we
find ourselves and with whom
we find ourselves with...
we all know what it is like to have
heroes whom we look up to
and whom we seek out for guidance
about what we should do
and perhaps where we should go next –
because every day everybody
is on a journey towards
something that will always
continue to be both tangible,
and yet far away –
because even when we finally
make it somewhere we have always wanted to go,
or after we finally meet someone
who we have always wanted to meet,
what matters is what happens afterwards
and as a result of the steps
that we all have to take
on our own individual and personal,
life-long and meaningful,
pilgrimages.
Mark The Poet 