When you know you have
found a kindred spirit -
someone who likes
the same things as you,
someone who speaks
the same language as you,
someone who knows
a part of you that no others do,
nor could ever understand -
the recognition is almost instant...
when you meet someone
and from the moment that you
share something about yourself with them -
that perhaps defines the most
important part of what makes you -
you know that what you say
will mean more to them
than it might to someone
whose interests are more
divergent from yours...
when you have a shared experience
with people whom you may have only known
for a relatively short amount of time -
but who you feel already have an instinct
about something that will always
remain a fundamental principle
that keeps alive the spark of hope within you -
then you will naturally gravitate back to them
time and time again -
because each and every one of us
never stop looking for something
or for someone who gets
why we are the way that we are
and why we do what we do...
when you can communicate
an entire universe of stories,
characters, adventure,
and the universal phenomenon
that something has become,
with a simple, yet infinitely powerful,
phrase, a gesture, a look
that can encapsulate and symbolize
why it is as special as people believe it to be,
then you know that what you
and many others have in common
is worth every second
that you have put into it...
when you find joy in the art
of becoming someone else -
just like an actor who transitions
and transforms themselves into a character -
you know that what comes with
that overwhelming feeling of happiness
is a tangible connection
with others that makes you feel seen
and not judged in any way,
and that experience can mean
so much to so many people
more that they could say...
when you come to believe
that there is no limit
to what you can achieve
as long as you hold on
to what empowers you
like an enduring gift -
and then you recognize
the same look in the eye
of others who also know
that they have a responsibility
to do something with that which
continuously gives them
the same enlightened lift -
that is when you know
you have found a fellow
kindred spirit.
enlightened
My Poem ‘The Book People’
Every book lover
has their favourite author;
every literary enthusiast
has their favourite book;
every storyteller,
every story reader,
knows that books
are really secret doors;
everyone with an imagination
can go on a journey
and cherish every word,
as if they had never read
a single sentence before.
I love hearing people say:
“oh my god, I love this book!” –
especially from the mouths of the young;
I always smile when I see
a fellow fan of an author
and a book that I love.
Stories have the power
to make you feel something amazing,
to greater depth and effect
sometimes than a song;
there are tales and characters
that shine for me and show me
the way to somewhere I have been looking for –
like the stars that shimmer like glitter
in the dark sky above.
A library is like a gold-mine of riches;
a bookstore is like a fountain of wishes;
a mind is a place where stories become a part of us;
a network of like-minded people is absolutely wondrous;
communication is the best way to feel free and boundless;
language is the supreme method
to teach someone about themselves;
sharing your dreams can inspire the dreams
and the imagination of countless generations;
the world that you live in with everyone else
is full of art that is truly timeless.
Books are meant to be opened and read,
and books are meant to share your life with you,
and they are meant to change as they live their own life –
being carried from place to place
and being held by person to person;
every book and every story, to me, is a limited edition;
any and every book has words and worlds within
that are uniquely special;
everybody has their own attractive qualities,
but to me their is no greater gift and attribute,
and no greater example of enlightened character,
than to be one of the millions of people,
of all ages all around the world,
who happily count themselves
as one of “The Book People”.
Mark The Poet 