Once a way has been forged,
once a passage has been traversed,
once steps have been taken
and breadcrumbs have been left,
once a feeling has been captured
and something special has been
preserved is some way -
like “lightning in a bottle” -
the world and people
are never the same again,
because the hand of God,
or the song of The Muse,
has made their intentions clear
that what has been set into motion
must happen and will happen no matter what…
once something has been created,
it’s energy cannot undone -
but what something was in the beginning can,
will, and does, change over time
until what something once was
has become something else,
even beyond the initial spark of its creator…
once you start something you know
from the get go is worth undertaking,
whatever something is meant to be
it will ultimately be -
whether that is a piece of art,
a story, a piece of furniture,
a meal, or perhaps a relationship,
if something is supposed to be
a certain way it will find a way
to influence its manifestation
and become a tangible part of the world…
once a person makes a decision to put pen to paper,
or choose to stop what they have been doing
and make a u-turn back through
where they have been before
but now with a new perspective,
then a new reality that never existed previously
always follows as a result -
like uncorking a bottle of champagne
and watching the force of the bubbles within
explode and stream like the engine of a jet…
once in a while, something unexpected happens
that turns out to be the catalyst
that causes the first of many pulses of light,
heat, inspiration, and intensity
that will only grow brighter, hotter,
bigger, and more overwhelming
the more that they are allowed to grow
beyond the place from which the seed
of what they were was planted,
before whatever something
becomes what it is fated to be…
once you start to think you will never do
what you used to do,
once you start to say that you will never
see someone ever again,
once you start to believe that something
is gone and unable to return to how it used to be,
once you start to wonder whether
you have really seen, heard, tasted,
and felt everything that you ever could,
the one that has one hand
on the steering wheel of the universe
and one foot hovering over both
the break and the accelerator
that dictates the velocity of
what is going to happen and when
will do what they do
and remind us all in big ways and in small ways
why it is always dangerous to
“never say never”.
destiny
My Poem “Wild Card”
There is always one...
there is always someone
who stands out from the crowd
because they refuse
to be like everyone else,
to think like everyone else,
to feel like everyone else -
even from those who
they consider their friends,
as well as from those of their family...
there is always someone extraordinary
who is capable of seeing what others cannot,
who can see a path where others see none,
who can work with what they have got
and make something seemingly out of nothing -
someone who is intrigued
by the mysteries of the unknown
and the uncertainties of life
that lie just beyond
the limits of their own eyes,
and who does not fear
where the universe will take them...
there is always something
that captures the imagination
and inspires the gift of the soul of someone special
to go out and touch the energy
of the cosmic poetry around the world
that binds us all together,
and, in doing so, introduces them
to people along the way
who will influence them
to shine brighter than
the stars of the night-sky
and also inspire others
to follow their lead
with the commitment of a dart...
there is always someone
whose destiny is to go where
they know they need to venture -
even if doing so can't, at first, be understood;
because everybody has to do
what they have got to do,
and sometimes when people
have such a determination
and carry such a spark
of change within their heart,
they can be considered
a "wild card".
My Poem “Meant to be”
I have no children, I have no lineage; however, what I will one day leave behind is my books, my poetry - just like Simon & Garfunkel once sang about in their song "I Am A Rock" - and that makes me eternally grateful and profoundly happy... I have no regrets, I have no wish to underdo what I have done - because at the point when I made the decisions that I have made I did not think about the end that would ultimately come to pass, because it had to, because it was always meant to... I have vivid memories of both first times and last times that I saw certain people - and though the start of something is always more wonderful than when it concludes, I am glad that I have met who I have met, and I am glad that I have done what I have done, I am glad that I have been to where I have been, because I am the embodiment of my poetry and my poetry is the embodiment of me... I have been embraced, I have been pushed away, I have been displaced, I have been on a lone path for what feels like forever and a day - but do you know what? If given the chance to change something I would not change a thing, because everything happens for a reason, there is no such thing as coincidence, and because the destiny of all of us unveils itself and is unique to each of us, and there is no question in my mind that you were meant to find me just as I was meant to meet you.
My Poem “Day of the Poet”
I believe that every day of my life has prepared me for who I am, who I have always been, and who I will always be... I believe that every day of my life - from the moment I wake up in the early hours of the morning, to the moment I fall asleep at night, to the moment I set sail upon the waves of the sea of my dreams - I am seeing, hearing, thinking, imagining, interpreting the poetry all around me that will always continue to invigorate me and inspire me... I believe that every day when a word, a verse, a story, or a new discovery plants it's seed within my mind it has been put there so that I can see it become something even more profound by giving it my own spark of magic... I believe that every day when I reflect inwards and outwards I draw in and I echo from myself something that was always meant to be shared with those who need to hear my message all around the world - from Atlanta to Zurich... I believe that every day when I am writing something that is in every way a part of me, as well as inspired by who I have met, what I have done, where I have been, and when I have been struck by inspiration, was always preordained - which is the reason that I never ask: why? I believe that every day when my heart was broken, I believe that every day when I was blessed to see the sunrise, I believe that every day when I had to keep my thoughts unspoken, I believe that every day when I told someone I loved them as I looked deep into their eyes - every moment, of every hour, of every day has always been when it was my time for me to be me and to shine my poetic light, because being a poet and a writer is the daily destiny of my life.
My Poem “The Best of Us”
Each of us can find contentment doing things that make us happy... each of us can find hidden secrets about life, about people, about every day things or situations that can make us all take another look at the world, and at ourselves, and allow us to realise that there is more seemingly "small things" - simple gestures, simple tokens - that mean the most in the long run and down the line when a smile on a face is all that we crave. Each of us need things to explore... each of us need one another... each of us need both windows and doors... each of us need the feeling of being included and not excluded from what is going on in the world, in the galaxy, in the quest of humanity and all life everywhere to find the next check point on the journey that is their purpose - whether that is to be found in a forest, on a mountain top, above the clouds, or below the waves on the seafloor. Each of us can do extraordinary things - even if we might not innitially recognise our gifts for being as profound and as impactful as they are... each of us make mistakes, each of us do things that we regret, because each of us are human - and I believe our failings should not forever be considered mortal sins by some from which we can not move on from, learn from, and change as a result... each of us are a miracle, worts and all... each of us are soulful individuals who over our life will feel feelings and emotions from love to guilt - but, to me, the spectrum of what people are capable of symbolises everything about life that nobody can do anything about: some things just are what they are, just as each of us are who and what we are and have always been destined to be since birth - as were, and as will always be, the best of us.
My Poem “Anniversary”
There is just something
about two people who,
no matter who they are
and where they’re from,
are always meant to be together…
distance means nothing
when it comes to destiny…
sometimes two people
are just inexplicably drawn
to the same place, at the same time,
and are meant to be drawn to one another –
and when two people who are meant
to be together first see each other
it is as if they already know
that they share something:
a fate, a life, a future,
a reason to be there for one another,
that influences every choice
that they make…
when two people who are meant to be together
first get to know one another
where they are from
and what they had done in their past
is irrelevant to what really matters:
that lightning-strike of attraction,
that infatuation, and that love
that makes them feel like they have
never felt before…
everybody in life makes mistakes –
sometimes people meet and things do not
work out in a relationship,
but all for good reason;
the relationships that last are not always
the ones in which everybody involved
gets along with one another and never fights,
because often times it is having
a difference of opinion about some things
that keeps the spark of a relationship alive…
it is always important to remind your partner,
your lover, your fiance, your husband, your wife,
how much they mean to you and why you love them
above everything and everyone else,
by complementing them, by supporting them,
by giving them as much of your attention as you can,
and by looking at them as if they were
the brightest and the most beautiful light
that has ever shined in the galaxy…
when two people who love each other
first find each other they have no idea
what is going to happen next,
but what they already know
is that they have an instant chemistry
that could never be replicated,
and after years of being together
two people can often come to develop
and share their own language
and their own method of communication
with one another –
and when a certain date and day
rolls around on the calendar,
and a day that two people in a relationship
recognize as meaning something
to the two of them and none others,
they often want to mark
and proclaim to everybody
that on such a day they are celebrating
the fact that they share something
that is just theirs and no one else’s:
their anniversary.
My Poem “Divine Intervention”
Sometimes things happen
that are true mysteries…
if the devil is in the details,
and if God works in mysterious ways,
then each of us are constantly
walking a path of choices and destiny…
sometimes things just pop up in front of you,
like a lucky penny, and you have to
make a course-correction,
and you have to do what you have to do
and you have got to see what you have got to see…
sometimes you return to places
that you never thought that you
would ever go back to
for reasons that you can’t control
and you cannot explain.
Sometimes in life you just need to have faith
and believe that something, or someone,
is watching over you –
protecting you, directing you, conducting you,
and pointing you in the direction
to where you need to be,
as if adhering to some kind of
inter-dimensional time-table…
things change, places change, people change –
there is always a time in your life
to find peace and reconciliation
with something that regularly
used to keep you up at night.
Thank God that things, places,
and people change – that is what I say;
because if life, the world, the universe,
did not revolve around the singularity of change
then where would any of us be?
There are so many moments of inspiration
that are really instances
of divine intervention in disguise.
My Poem “Thaw”
The air is cold…
There is ice all around…
I am steeping out,
I am breaking the mould…
I refuse to stay in one place
and forever remain gravity bound…
I will not allow fear to take hold…
I will put one foot in front of the other
and walk towards my destiny
that has been foretold…
Soon the ice will thaw
and again I will see the path
upon which I am fated to walk…
There is no way of turning back,
there is no time for talk…
The essence of time is to be fleeting…
The reason of memory
is in order to be reminded of life’s meaning…
I do not fear the future,
nor do I fear this shining icy floor…
One step at a time,
I will keeping going
and walk within the light of the sun
as it slowly but surely transforms
and returns all islands of ice
back into the air from whence they came
in one almighty thaw.
My Poem ‘The Shroud of Destiny’
The shroud of destiny…
the mysterious cloak of fate…
the lasting spirit that will walk
the Earth one day with the last of humanity…
the drape of infinity as dark
as the matter that veils
the wonders of outer-space…
the personification of all life
that can be seen waiting and contemplating
before a single wick of candlelight…
the one who knows the ultimate fate of the living
and where people go when they die…
they who have no face,
but who still have a form…
they who beckon from the end of days,
and who silently warn…
I have seen them…
I have stood and looked at them,
and I have been mesmerized by them…
I have wondered what they were thinking,
and what they would say to me if they could…
they who do not move when they are in contemplation –
and yet being in their presence
and seeing the darkness that covers them is enough
to bring out so many emotions and questions…
Destiny knows me… Destiny knows us all…
Destiny knows the days gone by, and the days yet to be…
Destiny knows so much, and Destiny says so much –
without even having to say a word…
you would think that staring into Destiny
would be a frightening thing for anyone to do,
but I personally believe that Destiny
is a silent teacher with so much to teach…
Destiny too has a destiny,
and until the day comes when they see themselves
in the mirror of time
I do not think they will ever speak…
as soon as I saw Destiny for the first time
I was inspired to write about them
in the voice of my gift: poetry –
and there they will stay
and walk the spaces between my words,
and so they will shadow my footsteps,
until the day when I turn around
and I accept and I wear
the shroud of my destiny.
“Destiny is always in the dark.”
My Poem ‘The Messenger’
Everybody is here on this Earth,
everybody is a part of this world,
for a reason – but, sometimes,
most of the time, more often than not,
people have no idea why…
I, however, know exactly why I am here,
why I am alive, and what my reason to live is
and will be until the day I die:
I am a messenger, but not a messenger
that you may expect,
I do not look like any “messenger”
that I have seen in my life –
I do not wear a uniform,
and what I does not always require me to drive…
I suppose I am like an old-fashioned telephone receiver,
and when I receive a very important call
with a very important message to be delivered to someone
I answer it without question or hesitation
and I go to pass on what I have been asked to deliver.
I never know who the sender is,
I never know who the recipient will be –
I only know a face, sometimes I even know a first-name;
I do not know what the message I am delivering is
sometimes until the moment that I deliver it…
I don’t even know where I am going
until I see the signs showing me the way
to where I need to get to –
it’s like I am painting a picture of something
that hasn’t happened yet as I take each and every step,
and it is only at the end of my delivery
that I can see the complete picture in its entirety,
like stepping back and looking at a canvas
newly-framed and mounted on the wall of a gallery.
I have delivered more messages than I can remember:
a young man sitting on a bus…
I remember telling him something
that his older sister wanted him to know:
that even though she had run away from home she still loved him
and that they would see each-other again one day –
some of the messages are so emotional to deliver,
I cannot help but break-down in tears
as I give them their message,
but in the same breath I love being the bearer of hope
and that sometimes invisible and silent hand
upon a person’s shoulder
telling them that every-thing is going to be alright.
I am not sure why I was chosen…
I am not sure who it was who chose me…
I am not sure if I am doing God’s work…
I am not sure what happens next
after I reach out, on behalf of someone else,
to another person…
I am not sure if my delivery of the message
is delivered in the same way as was intended –
most of the time I can deliver
what the message is with a look
and with a burst of thought,
like I am the conductor
of some kind of psychic-electricity;
sometimes I just let the message do all the work
and I just watch from behind my own eyes
while my body acts as if it has been possessed
by some kind of magical curse.
To most people who meet me,
I am nothing more than a stranger;
to a higher-power,
I am the one whom they chose
to be their psychic-amplifier;
to the sender of the messages that I send,
I am a link to someone who they want to talk to
without having to use their own voice –
I am their secret-teller,
I am one of their story-tellers…
I am here, I am there,
to be close and near to someone,
so that I can be who from a small child
I was always destined to be:
‘The Messenger’.
Mark The Poet 