When I first began writing poetry it was like a light had been switch on... when I first began writing poetry it was at the same time that I fell in love... when I first began writing poetry it was like walking outdoors and feeling the touch of the sun... when I first began writing poetry it was like I already knew that I was a poet for life and not just for the moment. Some things you think you know for sure and forever - but then they change... some people you think you know as well as you know your own face - but then they take a hard left down an unexpected alley... some things look perfect with the right lighting - but their flaws become apparent when seen in the light of day... some people look idealistic from far away - but up-close everybody's cracks are exposed like the shadows of monuments in a valley. I didn't know what was inside of me until I found the right person with the right key to unlock the door of my library of internal poetry... I didn't know what would happen after I started walking down this road that I have been on now for years - but I knew that would never be truly alone and that there would always be something and someone with me... I didn't know what it meant to have been found until I felt my eyes, my mind, my heart, my ears, my soul open wide and never want to miss a thing about anything and everything ever again... I didn't know what lay beyond the horizon, in outer space, or in the dark, until I saw that there is always a way and a gift for me to turn to and to turn on whenever I want to like a switch.
dark
My Poem “Equinox”
Life feels like we have truly arrived
at a moment between light and dark…
life feels like we are transitioning
between two states of being…
after all that has happened this year,
after we have all sacrificed
and after how far we have all come,
life feels as if it is in a state of resistance –
because humanity feels like it is
stuck in a game of tug of war with itself
and with a nemesis they cannot see clearly.
Life in some shapes and places is continuing
regardless of everything else –
as they always have done –
while some individuals fear that
they have reached a point of no return
and everything that happens next
with be irrevocable, and the pain
that will be felt will cut deep.
Life on planet Earth has been shook
profoundly by what has occurred this year…
life will never again be the same as it was…
life is subjective and based upon
the personal perspective of an individual
at a specific here and a specific now.
Life has been though dark times before;
however, after every era of profound change,
nature teaches all things that they need
to find a way to adapt to the circumstances
and the surroundings that they find
themselves in and to do their best
to find a balance that they may have lost –
and there is no better time to be
a shining example of phenomenal
strength and fortitude than right now,
at this moment of equinox.
My Poem “The Dark Horse”
In the breeze of the early morning air,
I walked to a place where I knew
something majestic would be
waiting for me there –
and as I got closer to them
I could almost feel the power of their stare,
and before I knew it I was looking
into the dark eyes of a horse
the colour of midnight Black,
who seemed to recognise me,
as I recognised them
as if they were a ghost from my past.
As I stood and stared at the physical
embodiment of “Black Beauty”,
from Anna Sewell’s novel,
a feeling of peace overcame me
and I felt an instant sense of calm –
as if I were a child, as if the horse
before me looked at me
as if I were a young foal.
To some people horses are approached
cautiously because their behaviour
can sometimes be temperamental;
however, to me a horse is one of
the most beautiful and intelligent
animals on Earth who has a heart
and a soul that is as complex
as they are magical.
From Stallions to Thoroughbreds,
from Arabians to Shires –
horses have a way about them
that is uniquely individual to them,
and in many ways horses are like people
because they feel, they think, they dream,
and they love to show and to be shown
affection;
and horses, like most complicated
creatures who people share a connection with,
also have a phenomenonal memory
and they may not actually require
being whipped while racing on a racecourse –
and that is one of the reasons why
I never feel any trepidation,
and why I did not feel nervous at all,
when I caught my first glimpse
of the statuesque presence of
the dark horse.
My Poem “This is the way”
There are times when
some people can believe
that all hope has been lost…
there are times when
people cannot see beyond
the shroud of darkness
that obscures the constant stars…
there are times when people
walk through a forest of trees
and they cannot see a path
to the outside and back to the light…
there are times when
people have to dig deep and feel
for the source of the force
that shines like a beacon within them
and which seeks to cut through
the chaos of a moment
like a sabre of peace
that can be formidable if needed
to be used during a fight for survival.
There are times from dawn to dusk,
as the Sun walks the sky
and guides the lives
of billions of people
who are all seeking to play their part
in keeping the phantom menaces
that occasionally plague the world at bay –
however staying a course,
standing up against an adversary
who seeks to impose their will
over the innocent of society,
speaking out for those
who do not have a voice,
and saving the life of people
who you might not know
is the least that anyone can do,
and in the mission of those
who seek peace, harmony
and reconciliation with all things,
while walking with their head held high
and while basking in the light
of the living, is how it is possible
to be a force for good
in the world in some way.
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.
My Poem “BANG!”
I can smell smoke in the air –
I can smell the potent aroma
of a fire burning in the distance…
I can hear the sound of explosions
echoing from an unknown direction –
no doubt the early launches
of fireworks purchased
for Bon Fire Night, tonight –
November the Fifth,
“Guy Fawkes Night”;
however, because there is
a thick blanket of dark cloud
above my head, I cannot see
the glory of the colour
no doubt brightening the sky somewhere.
There is a fine downpour of rain
that falls upon my face
as I gaze above to see
if I can glimpse what I can hear,
what I can smell, what I can feel –
however, it seems almost impossible
to be able to see anything
beyond the clouds,
and even the light of stars
of the night-sky are unable
to penetrate through the
hovering mass of water vapour.
Then there is a break
in the thick clouds
and the twinkle of the stars
is slowly revealed,
and seemingly from out of nowhere
there is a sudden loud BANG!
at the same time that there is
an explosion of red light
that streams and stretches
down from the sky above
to fill my eyes and my mind
with wonder and a welcome
reawakening of awe –
and within no time at all
the rain storm ceases,
and the full majesty
of the constellations are exposed
in all their stunning
and magnificent
breathtaking beauty.
My Poem “The Quintessential Joker”
I have always been someone
who likes to smile, to laugh,
to entertain, and to share my
overflowing enthusiasm
and enjoyment of something…
I have always been someone
who was drawn to moments of time
which revolved around happiness,
hopefulness, and the beauty of life
and the depths of feeling
that the human spirit is prevalent with.
I have always been someone
who understood how precious,
how amazing, what an opportunity,
and what a gift it is to be among
those who live in the world of the living –
and it has been revealed to people
many times over that it is
in those moments in our lives
when our emotions are at their most heightened,
that our minds are open to the possibilities
that surround each and every one of us
but which sometimes have
their secrets and truths
hidden from view because
people are not always in the right
frame of mind to understand
what they mean nor why they are so important…
often times the funniest forms
of comedy come out of the darkest
of situations that we find ourselves in…
some of the greatest writers, storytellers,
and performers the world has ever known
once knew and went through
times of pain, anguish, and fear
that they had to go through and overcome –
because everybody has different ways
of coping with everything
that they have to endure,
and everybody has different
levels of resilience and tolerance –
and there are times when some people
do the wrong thing at the wrong time
but they do not come to their senses
until much later in their life.
Everybody needs some kind
of outlet to return to…
everybody needs some kind
of way to express themselves…
everybody needs some kind
of flickering flame to get them
through the most trying of nights…
everybody knows what is funny to them
and what makes them explode
into a fit of laughter,
and everybody knows someone
who can lighten their mood
and without even having to try
can turn on their charm
and become the quintessential joker.
My Poem “Shot in the dark”
Life is often like walking on ice…
Sometimes in life you are walking along
just fine and then you slip up
and you find yourself on your back
lying on the stone cold ground,
as the new morning’s sunlight
covers you like a sheet of gold:
you feel pain all over your body
from your head to your feet –
however, the thing that always hurts the most
is your ego, your pride,
and what goes through your mind,
after you pick yourself up
off of the floor without falling again,
is whether someone saw you unable
to defy gravity and control what happened to you –
and it is at moments like that,
and I have had a few,
when someone find themselves
in that position and in that state of vulnerability,
that we are all reminded of how falable we all are
and how susceptible to the other outside forces of nature
that we can’t control we are –
and when that happens everybody starts to learn
the value of their time in this world
and they begin to appreciate what they can control,
and they forgive the things in this world that just carry on
regardless and innately indifferently –
like the light of a shining star
whose life came to an end millions of years ago
but when we here on Earth look up
to the dark night sky
we can still see it above are heads
just as it was when it was still burning bright
and at it’s prime…
And that is why people are stars –
we are born, we live,
we use what we have while we have it,
and then we die –
and in our life we will have shined
for a time, for someone for a reason…
Living is a mostly unpredictable state of being
during which most of the things
we voluntarily choose to do
are just like making a shot
at a target in the dark.
My Poem “The Old Mark”
There is a man looking at me
before my eyes…
there is a man looking at me
who I do not recognize…
there is a man looking at me
who has my memories…
there is a man looking back at me
as I look at them who has been
growing within me for years…
there is a man who has lived
every day with me, and I realize
now that we are eye to eye who they are…
there is a man who is as close
as can be to me
who used to be nothing more
than a shadowy figure on the horizon…
there is a man who looks like a man,
but who also seems so alien to me
that for all I know
he could have come from Mars…
there is a man who was once young
and unscarred by life, by people, and by himself,
but who is who I see now in X-ray
and for all his faults…
I see myself as I once was, and as I am now –
one and the same, a man of light and a man of dark…
I see the young dreamer,
and the old Mark.
Mark The Poet 