Today is the 29th of February...
today is a day that will not
come again for another four years...
today is a day when women
traditionally "pop the question"
and propose to their significant other
and ask them to marry them...
today is an anomaly,
which also serves as
the solution to a problem...
today is a day that is celebrated
because it is only seen on a calendar
when it is a leap year...
today is when so many people
will be celebrating
the actual day of their birthday -
and not a day before or after it...
today is a day when so many people
will choose to do something
they have never done before...
today is a day when lives
will be changed forever...
today is a day that means more
than can be expressed in words...
today is a day when opportunities
will present themselves
that should be taken advantage of,
because what will follow
will only be known at a time in the future
when we are ready to see
and understand what happened and why...
today is not just any day,
because it gives us all
the gift of perspective
that time is not what we think it is -
because life is complicated and emotional
and sometimes not easily defined
in practical and understandable ways...
today is a day that has always fascinated me,
because it both exists and doesn't -
as if it were a part of
some kind of temporal experiment...
today is a day when the events of it
will not be marked again
for another four years -
so allow me to take this opportunity
to wish everyone reading this luck
for what is to come in their lives,
and also a very happy leap day!
celebration
My Poem “Viva Ibiza!”
Every morning, as I greeted the new day, as I looked to the horizon, as I saw the light of the sunrise flow over the mountains and the roofs of the houses, as always, I was in awe... every morning, as I walked the coastline, as I listened to the sound of the waves of the ocean going in and out, I saw, I heard, I felt the energy of the cosmic poetry around me touch me, inspire me, and rejuvenate me... every morning, as some of the revellers of the night before still remained sitting upon the sandy beach, as the echoes of the beats of the entrancing music continued to linger, I witnessed life, people, attempting to revive and reset themselves so that Summer's cycle could repeat, just as it is always expected to... every evening, as I returned from enjoying and embracing the experience of being where I was, on an island of both beauty and infamy, I always looked forward to looking out, just as the light of the sun touched the waves of the sea, as the perpetual celebration of life carried on, and as I closed my eyes I said to myself what some may only express silently with a smile when they find themselves in a paradise-like place where anyone can do what they want to do and where anyone can be who they want to be: "Viva Ibiza!"
A Poem A Day #594: Jubilee
My Poem “Carnival”
A celebration of life... a rainbow of colour... an explosion of light... a parade of wonder... a celebration of individuality, as well as a way to show that we are all one, the same, together... an experience that seems dream-like when you are in the middle of it... a gathering of people, unlike any other... an atmosphere of energy that creates something that feels special, which can reinvigorate any and every spirit... a feeling that influences the way that people think, speak, see, hear, and act... a power and a natural magic that is wonderful and unfathomable... a way of being that people crave and wish would always last... a festival of love, unity, as well as so much more of what makes the world and existence on this planet worth living for - that is the heart and the soul of a carnival.
My Poem “Jubilee”
It is always good to have a moment of celebration... it is always rejuvenating to have a time of reconciliation... it is always amazing to have a gathering together of people at a special event or a party... it is always wonderful to see an entire nation of people young and old seemingly united, excited, and proud to be who and what they are, as they take the time to display and wave the flag of their home, while also recognising the achievement of longevity and leadership of their Head of State, their Monarch, at the time of a milestone jubilee. There is a reason why children and adults love watching fireworks explode at night... there is a reason why people love going to places and doing things they do not do every day... there is a reason why children and adults love the escapism of books, films, television, radio, music, streaming, games, and why some people actively go looking for a reason to physically jump after a fright... there is a reason why some people like to get dressed up and make even more of an effort than they usually do, and it is usually to signify the importance to them of a special date. Everybody needs hope in their lives... everybody needs something and someone to look to and to believe in... everybody needs to fulfil a dream... everybody needs light... everybody occasionally needs a win... everybody sometimes needs to be around as many people of their kin, their country, or their kingdom, at a moment of feverish collective jubilation.
My Poem “Forty”
Where did all the time go?
The last thing I knew I was
celebrating my thirtieth birthday,
and today I am celebrating
turning the big four-oh?
What a forty years it has been!
What a life I have lived!
When I look back I sometimes
cannot believe where I have been,
what I have done, nor who I have met
over the course of my life –
and because time goes by so fast
there are inevitably dreams that I have had
that feel like memories and there are memories
that I have made that sometimes feel like dreams.
It’s been forty years since I arrived
into this world that every day
never ceases to both surprise and inspire me…
it’s been forty years since I was
welcomed into this world with open arms
by my parents and by my family…
it’s been forty years since I first
saw another human being,
since I first smiled, since I first heard
the background music of nature
that never stops playing…
it’s been forty years since the light
of the sun bestowed upon me
the sight of miracles that will always be with me
and will continue to keep my heart beating.
I remember exactly where I was,
what I was doing, and what I was thinking
ten years ago, when I turned thirty –
and when I think back to those simpler times
I cannot believe what the last ten years
especially have given to me:
the gift of inspiration, the gift of poetry,
the gift of perpetual love,
the gift of looking above to the stars
of the night and to the bright blue
of the daytime sky, and the realisation
that life is an adventure that needs
to be lived to be fully understood.
I know who I am, I know what I am,
and I know who and what in this world
mean the most to me –
so, today, as I turn forty,
if I had to choose one word
to describe myself or my life,
I would undoubtedly have to say: Lucky –
because over the last forty years
I have been given a life filled with
moments that are the stuff of pure poetry.
My Poem “Celestial Love”
Let us take to the road
and we’ll go for a drive…
let us take out a boat
and we’ll sail upon the waves
of an ocean all day and all night…
let us take a plane
and we’ll fly to Spain…
let us take a hot air balloon
and we’ll drift above dark clouds
full of thunder and rain…
let us take a rocket
and we’ll launch into space…
let us float above the Earth in zero-gravity
and we’ll look down at everybody
and wave as we hold one another
in an out of this world embrace…
let us fall asleep side by side
on a starship to a solar system
that has two stars within it instead of one
and before we know it we’ll be waking up
and having to convince ourselves
that what we are seeing is better than a dream…
let us make a new home for ourselves
upon the surface of an alien planet
that looks like Earth but which
from orbit looks to be more blue than green –
and after we settle down upon
this new place of possibility
we’ll look up to the stars above
through a telescope and find
Earth’s flickering blue glow
and we’ll both look at one another
and agree that even in comparison
to all the wonders of the universe
there has never been two souls
who have always been meant to be,
because our life is a constant
celebration of our celestial love.
My Poem “Waypoint”
Once a year
we all find ourselves here –
here, at the end of one year
and at the beginning of another –
where and when a transition occurs
within the blink of an eye,
as colorful explosions light up the sky
all around the world,
as people celebrate the start
of a new time in their lives…
the sun rises, the sun sets –
just as it has done countless times before –
however, just as the year changes
so does the world ever so slightly…
the stars still sparkle the same
at night as they’ve always done –
however, far away in the vastness of space,
past, present, and future intersect,
and new doors open between two sides…
music plays constantly throughout the cosmos
that when heard by those able to hear it
inspires poetry, art, scientific discovery,
wonder, and dreams that will paint
the landscape of what is to come
with echoes of colour of what came before…
there is no limit to where anyone can go
when they discover what is possible…
there is no end to what knowledge
can be attained when you open your mind
to a new world you never even knew existed…
there is a truth to be found
about the nature of the universe
by looking at the delicate petals
and inhaling the breathtaking perfume of a rose…
there is no knowing what awaits any of us
when we decide upon the path we choose to take
when we reach a waypoint in our life-long journey
when we find ourselves at a crossroads.
My Poem ‘The Burning Man’
What symbolizes life more than a candle?
What symbolizes a person’s soul more than a flame?
What symbolizes that which is precious
but that which is also hard to handle?
What symbolizes that which no one,
no matter how powerful they are, can tame?
Fire. Burning. Creation, and destruction.
The end, as well as the beginning of something new.
Just as a fire will continue to rage
as long as it has fuel –
an artist… a reveler… a person inspired
and who embraces life’s limitless opportunities
to express themselves see powerful images,
like that of a “burning man” –
as if they are also gasoline
to the spark that resides
within their mind and in their heart;
just like a band of many, performing as-one,
a harmony and a synchronicity of destiny
binds everybody together –
so much so that they create
their own gravitational-pull.
In the heat of a desert…
in the dry air of a forest…
in the most desperately-remote places on Earth…
within the beat of a person’s heart
crescendoing in their chest…
sometimes a seemingly-spontaneous wildfire
can spark into life…
sometimes amazing things can happen
when the conditions are “just-right”…
sometimes the gift and the act of free-will
can give rise to an instinctive
visceral expression of natural art.
Life is a shared-experience…
some people’s life, light, flame, and fire,
burns brighter and for longer –
but everybody who lives any life at-all
burns with a purpose…
everybody is a stranger to each-other
until they introduce themselves to one-another…
everybody is on a mission of self-discovery –
but the most important thing
to look back upon your life
and be proud of is all the times
when you walked together with someone
in mutual-participation and cooperation,
guided by a feeling and without a firm-plan;
there have been many examples throughout human history
of what happens when you bring together
people and nature and you let them be
and you let them burn and commune
for a short time with one-another,
and there is no better festival of life
that takes place every year
that is a symbol of the constant burning spirit
of a person’s spirit more so than ‘Burning Man’.
My Poem ‘The Green Lantern’
I don’t know what it is about Irish music,
but whenever and wherever I hear it
it makes my heart beat
with the rhythm of an Irish drum;
I don’t know what it is about the thought of Ireland,
but whenever I think of it
it shines for me – like an emerald city just over the water –
and lots of magical and wonderful things
spring up, like a vast green field filled with Shamrocks;
I don’t know what it is about the look
and the taste of Irish Guinness
that makes me think of something deep, dark –
like a treat to the senses
as the thought of outer-space,
and the kingdom of the universe’s infinite stars.
From space, the Earth shines like a blue marble –
however, when you actually stand on Earth and look around you,
the most predominant and the most resonating colour
that you see, is the colour that always makes me think
of the island of Ireland, and the “luck of the Irish”,
and that is the beautiful colour of green;
life is filled with music and colour,
and at all times of the day
the natural wonders of Earth
can be a phenomenal marvel;
every day, especially on St. Patrick’s Day,
there is just something in the air, sometimes –
when you can look around you,
and you actually see and feel the world entrance you
with its abundance of spectacle –
and, like a shining-green hummingbird,
gleam like you have never seen.
I don’t know what it is about the Irish accent,
but to my ears it sings and has a melody
like that of an Irish flute;
I don’t know why,
but every time I watch an Irish dance being performed –
like Riverdance, for example –
I feel compelled to get up on my feet,
and move like I have never moved;
I don’t know what it is about the sayings,
and the stories that have their roots
set firmly into the land that tells tales
of Giants, mythical beings,
and the power to make real anything
that you could possibly believe;
I don’t know what it is,
but if I lived in Ireland,
and if I were an Irishman,
I would never want to leave.
Today is a day when anything and everything Irish
is being celebrated everywhere that I look;
today is the day when all the lights that I see
are green, and everyone can feel Irish –
no matter where they were born,
or where they come from;
today is the day when everybody can indulge,
and feel a wave of merriment
with the smallest sip of the taste
of inspiration intoxication;
today is the day to let yourself feel free
in lots of ways, and dance and sing
to the beat that you hear;
today, among other wonderful
and magical things associated with today,
everything about today
always makes my heart beat fast –
because, to me, today is the day of the drum,
and the day of the light of the green lantern.
Mark The Poet 