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A Poem A Day #357: The White House
“Get Out There”
A Poem A Day #70: Mist Fields of My Home
Keep Calm and Keep Walking🚶♂️
Hi, everybody!
I just got back from an invigorating and inspiring walk through the beautiful countryside of my home village of Meriden, here in the United Kingdom – walking over green fields and following trails that I have walked many times over the years, so much so that I know every blade of grass and every leaf of every tree like the back of my hand.
I have always enjoyed walking and I always take great pleasure in the time that I am gifted to be able to do it. I have been inspired to write many poems about my home surroundings and the natural world environment that I have been blessed to enjoy all my life – and, as a result, all of my books are filled with poetry and inspiration inspired by something that I might have seen, heard, thought about, or felt while walking.
I would not be the writer I am today without walking. I would not have written all that I have written if I had not fallen in love with the gift and the magic that walking or just being in the great outdoors has given me.
During my walk this morning I passed by a fellow walker who greeted me and wished me a “good morning” – which compliment I immediately returned, of course; and just before he and I parted ways, my fellow rambler said: “What a beautiful morning to be alive, isn’t it?” And I could not have agreed with him more, because this morning felt like a true breath of fresh air that I and everybody needed.
So, wherever you are and whatever you are doing this weekend, from me to you, I just wanted to say that I hope you have a wonderful weekend – and, if you can, take a moment to enjoy the natural beauty of what surrounds you.
Keep calm and keep walking, my friends!🚶♂️
-Mark
My Poem “Ramblers”
In the warm embrace
of the shining morning sun
I walked through a forest of trees…
in the bright and beautiful open air,
as I breathed in deep,
I found myself enraptured
by an instant sense of peace.
As I walked amongst the flora
and the fauna that surrounded me
my eyes were opened wide…
as my eyes were drawn
to all the colours that I saw
I experienced the sensation of
a door opening within my mind
and I felt as if I were somewhere
completely removed from time –
and it was this feeling of contentment
that made me close my eyes,
smile, breathe in, and sigh.
Within nature is where I feel
the most at home…
when I am blessed to see
a bumblebee collecting nectar,
or when I am fortunate
to hear the sound of birdsong,
or when I inhale the infinitely
complex fragrance of nature,
I wish that I could share exactly
what I see, what I hear,
what I experience, and what I feel:
rejuvenation, elation, and,
most importantly, overflowing
waves from an invisible ocean of hope.
I like to live in hope…
I like living close to nature…
I like to immerse myself in
whatever I find wherever I go…
I like wandering down a path
while wondering about the future.
I thrive on the beautiful poetry
of the natural world…
I am always inspired
after spending some time
visiting oases of life…
I feel like I can converse
with the blossoming trees,
the green fields, and with whom
and with what I do not see
without even having to utter a word…
there are times when everybody needs
to leave the beaten path and explore
what gives the wonders of the wilderness
its enamoring allure to those of us
who are commonly described as “ramblers”.
My Poem “Memory Lane”
Walking down and around
my old stomping grounds,
down the long and winding lanes
of the countryside near my home
that I know and could never forget –
especially now, while the world
feels like it has been turned upside down –
feels so rejuvenating, it feels so relaxing,
it feels like stepping back in time
and simultaneously being the man I am now
as well as the man I was back then
when I last walked this path,
as if I am in communication with myself
as I was five years ago in the past.
The grass looks just as green…
the budding trees look just as pretty…
the sky above looks to me to be
the brightest blue that I have ever seen…
the furrowed fields look just as
mesmerising as they always did –
in fact everything that I see, hear,
feel, and inhale of the nature that surrounds me
intoxicates me with its natural,
lush, and majestic beauty.
It is no wonder to me
that so many artists have attempted
to capture a view and the epic expanse
of a landscape within the confines
of the edges of a canvas –
because there is so much to be found,
because there is so much to take in,
because there is so many evocative
shapes, colours, textures, nuances,
wisps of language and meaning
that constantly jump out from
a green and pleasant environment
that has so much to say
and to convey about itself,
about who and what calls it home,
how it has changed and how it is
exactly the same as it was.
Quite often you find things out
about yourself that you recognize,
sometimes you might encounter
things about yourself that
you may have forgotten about,
and sometimes things can look different
when seen through the prism of time,
experience, memory,
and what we see can inform us
of exactly where we have been,
where we are going,
what we have been through,
and most important who we are –
and that is why one of the most amazing,
transformative, and rejuvenating things
that we can do from time to time,
especially when we feel like
our spirit needs a boost,
is to see beyond the frame of the present
and take a walk down “memory lane”.
My Poem “For Bake’s Sake”
Because of the current circumstances
that we all find ourselves within
so many people have been forced
to stay at home, to stay indoors,
and to stay away from
close friends and family members –
and, as a result, there has been
an increase in the necessity for
Internet bandwidth so that people
who are at home 24/7 can continue
to remain in contact with
the rest of the world,
so that they can continue
to be entertained
by all the content that the various
streaming services have to offer,
and so that people can continue to
engage with rest of the world
via all the forms and all the sites of
social media and social interaction
while the majority of the planet
continue to practice physical
social distancing between one another,
and there seems to be no more
popular activity than people
daily posting pictures, videos,
and even live streams of what they are doing,
what they are making,
and what they are baking behind closed doors
while they wait out the time of being
locked down from the outside world
which continues to progress at
the only pace that it is capable of taking.
We all have to do something
to pass the time when we are being
asked to do as little as possible,
to leave the house as sparingly as possible,
and to not interact with anyone
anywhere other than with those
who live under the same roof as we do –
and some people have chosen to
become home bakers, artists,
social media streamers,
book readers, television
and movie watchers,
and they have chosen to share
what they are doing with their
time of isolation more so
than they would if they were able
to leave their homes if
and when they wanted to.
Time goes by so slowly
when you have to look
for things to do
to distract you from the situation
that you find yourself in –
especially when you and everyone
you know is attempting to live
under a shield of quarantine
in an attempt to protect the lives
of their family members
and the world at large –
and which is why the allure
of making things and using your time
to create something and to share
the process and the end result
of doing something worthwhile
is what so many homebound people
have chosen to gravitate towards
and will no doubt continue to do:
because if this troubling time
is reminding all of us of anything
more profoundly that usual
is that time is precious, life is short,
and our human societies are fragile –
and that is why I think what people
are doing to pass the time while
they at home is important,
and whether watching, writing, reading,
making, or baking, what people are doing
is for all our sake and not just
baking for baking’s sake.
My Poem “The Long Way Round”
Some times it is good to go that extra mile…
some times it is worthwhile to go back
to where you came from…
some times it is good to revisit those places
that used to make you smile…
some times all you need is to return
to those open spaces that you will always remember
and let the winds of home
blow away the cobwebs of your memory,
and once again you can feel like you are
walking among old friends as you retrace
those steps that you made
that gave you a reason to not feel alone…
the shape of time is a sphere…
even those who feel lost
one day arrive back where their journey began
and again they feel found…
the walls that surround our heart
and our soul are crystal clear…
just as we take a step into the future
we also always take a step back into the past,
and while doing so we all always feel glad
that when given the choice to take the short and easy way
instead we chose to take our time, to smell the roses,
and see the sights along the way,
as we took the long way round.
markthepoet.me 