Where once there was many
now there are few…
where once there was darkness
now there is the promise
of something hopeful and brand new…
where once there was hate and fear
now there is the light of love
to usher in a new day of healing…
where once there was tyranny
now there is the arrival
of why it is always important
to never stop believing…
where once there was division
now there is a message of unity
for people who want peace and prosperity
to spread across the world
and out amongst the stars…
where once there were daily attacks
now the suvivors who did not
give up continue to walk tall
and seek to mend those who
now wear deeply embedded battle-scars..
where once there was lies
now there is truth to be found
in a myriad of ways…
where once there was indecision
now there is a symbol and an example
of why it is important
to always keep the faith.
important
My Poem “Grounded”
One of the things that living
through times of uncertainty
teaches someone is to appreciate
all the things about a person’s life
that are the most essential…
one of the things that people
realize that they often take for granted,
especially when living through times of loss,
is the gift of knowing that
the friends and family members
are still managing to adapt
and to survive the best that they can.
One of the things that everybody
understands more acutely than they would
under normal circumstances
is why it is so important to tell people
how you feel about them, if you can,
when you can, how you can –
because sometimes things in life
do not always go to plan.
One of the things that people
have to deal with,
especially while learning how to deal with
the after-effects of a cataclysmic event,
is an unbelievable amount of stress
as well the sometimes difficult
endeavour of feeling under the weather,
trying to figure out how to live
when some connections
and when some avenues of stability
and serenity have been temporarily severed.
One of the things that the people
have to learn when they are travelling
down an unknown path
is the ability to course-correct,
to change how they think,
to change what they do,
and to remember what has always
kept them on the straight and narrow,
what their life revolves around,
and what it is in their life
that has always kept them grounded.
“Blur”
Sometimes life goes by so fast that everything becomes a blur – that is why it is always important to hold on to the memory of something or someone whose image is always as clear as day in your mind, and no matter the distance from you what they mean to you will never fade away. 😊
My Poem “More than we might know”
Christmas Day is but once a year,
however the way that some people
make us feel every day
is enough to make us what to cry
tears of love and joy
because we know how lucky we are to
have them close and near.
Christmas time is when people tend
to think about others more than usual,
and Christmas time is also
when people often also
tend to reflect back upon
everything that life has tested them with,
especially as we all grow older
and we remember things in the past
that we may have accidentally taken for granted.
Everybody is this life needs somebody
to hear them, to think about them,
to give them the gift of their time –
even is it is only in the form of
a greetings card that tells someone
that you were thinking about them,
because no one who has done so much
good for other people ever deserves
to be forgotten or left behind.
Time is precious…
people are vulnerable…
there are people in this world
who have lost everything
because of a natural disaster,
because of homelessness,
because life has not been kind to them –
and this time of the year is when
a large population of the world
considers what means the most to them,
and the greatest gift
that we can all give one another –
as members of the collective
human family of this planet –
is respect, peace, and an opportunity
for everybody to find happiness
while doing something
that gives their life meaning.
We can all be better people sometimes…
we can all be better at communicating
our feelings – however, there are times
when talking is the hardest thing to do,
especially when you feel like nobody
could ever understand
what you are going through…
we can all be better listeners –
however, the ability to fully listen
and to hear what someone is trying
to tell you is harder than you think.
We can all be there for somebody
in particular when they need
the gift of someone to be there for them,
to make time for them,
to embody the spirit of the season,
and to get them through the sometimes
harsh Winter of the Northern Hemisphere
and the sometimes uncomfortable Summer
of the Southern Hemisphere –
because no one is immune to life,
because everybody is human,
and it is important that we all
remember, as often as possible,
who we are, what we are,
how short our time to shine is,
and that it takes almost no effort at all
to be present in the life
of somebody who may needs us
more than we might know.
My Poem “Catharsis”
Whatever you internalize,
whatever you take in,
whatever you analyze,
whatever you hear,
whatever you taste,
whatever you touch,
whatever you see –
especially if it is something
that challenges you in some way –
at some point, ultimately,
has to be released and set free…
that is why art – poetry, painting,
drawing, movies, television, books,
theatre, carpentry, comedy, music –
is so important to society,
because it gives us an excuse
to externalize our inner thoughts and feelings.
Expression can be powerful…
creation can be trans-formative…
exposure to things can be inspirational…
discovering who you are and who you want to be
can define how, where, when,
and with whom you want live…
sometimes you only have an inkling
about what is bubbling away inside of you,
below the surface of your day to day thoughts –
and it is only at moments when your internal
defenses and barriers have been lowered enough
when what is within you is allowed to come out…
there is something evocative about
watching something being performed live –
like watching an artist or a band
let their art and their distinctive
sound and voice speak for itself –
that just overtakes you, consumes you,
and makes you do things and say things
that you would not ordinarily do.
The only way to find the answer
to a question is to ask it…
the only way to discover the truth
of something is to explore it…
the only way to get through life
is to live it, to fight for it,
to embrace it, to worship it,
to take chances, to take risks…
the only way to be is to be a poet –
because a poet lives every day
a life of reflection, of contemplation,
of inflection, of internalization,
of externalization, of expression,
of liberation and catharsis.
My Poem “Pride”
Pride is all around us…
flags of many colours
and symbols of many things
are being displayed proudly wherever I go…
symbols of pride in ones identity
and in ones country are being worn
on the clothing of everybody who feels hope
and optimism deep within their heart…
pride is being sung and can be heard in the air…
pride in a shared passion brings people
from many different walks of life together…
pride is one of the most important things to have,
and it is one of the hardest things to lose…
pride should not need to be explained to anybody,
because Pride is just another word for Love –
and sometimes who and what you love
is not for you to choose…
people feel love with people, with places,
with things, with ideas, with ideals
that draw them to them like a moth to a flame…
people feel deep pride and they live every moment
of something that means the world to them:
whether it be their favourite singer or musician,
their favourite thing to do and experience,
or perhaps every second of the 90 minutes
that make up the two halves of their favourite game…
pride can be shown in many ways…
pride can be felt by those who know
the power of its energy every day…
pride is a person’s internal voice
that should not be silenced…
pride is the growl of courage, the howl of unity,
and the roar of family that you can see,
hear, and feel within a pack of wolves,
or within a group of lions who embody
the importance of staying strong by keeping your pride.
My Poem “The Ancient Ones”
We need to protect our environment…
too many of our greatest sources
of natural beauty are constantly
under threat from being taken away from all of us…
there are places in this world
that mean a great deal to so many of us
and they are important…
woodland being destroyed to build roads,
houses, and things that people
might think they want but they don’t need…
it is only when something is gone forever
that people start to look around at what remains
and their view of the world
starts to come into focus…
where would any of us be without trees,
birds, insects, green fields, mountains,
oceans, blue-sky above our head?
We need to preserve our beautiful planet…
we need to improve and not impede
our world’s life-support system
and give back to our planet
from which we have taken so much.
Our planet… Earth… our home
is all that we have,
and we need to take a step back
and see what some people are doing
to our precious life-giving
and life-sustaining environment,
and remember the teachings of the ancient ones –
our forefathers and foremothers –
and worship our world first and foremost,
because for the foreseeable future
all we see all around us is all that we have.
My Poem “Under Arbor”
Sitting under a tree…
Sitting under a shadow
as the sun shines
and there is blue sky above me…
I take a moment alone, on my own,
to savour the moments
of precious peace…
My time here is short –
however, isn’t everybody’s these days?
My thoughts briefly drift away
as I daydream that I am far away…
I think of memories
that mean the most to me…
I remember and I see the faces
of those who give my life meaning
and who make my heart skip a beat…
Life is the most precious thing…
Love is the most important blessing…
I never get the opportunity
or the time these days to just sit
and take it easy,
and that is why I am
making the most of this moment
to breath in the fresh air
and sit in the shadow of a tree.
My Poem ‘My Chikadee’
You save me every day,
my beautiful angel;
you make me feel
like I have never felt;
you give me everything
and if I could
I would give you anything,
because you are my world;
you and I share the same heart and soul,
and every time I tell that I love you
and you tell me that you love me
I feel so happy beyond content,
and I honestly believe
that at any moment
I am literally going to melt.
From sunrise to sunset,
from moon-climb and moonlight
until the sun shines again
in the blue sky above,
I promise to be there
for you whenever you need me –
because you are and you always will be
the angel of my life
who I will never stop thinking about –
and over and over again,
every second of every day,
I fall even deeper in love.
What we have is love never-ending;
what we give to one another
to me is more important
than the air that I am breathing;
what we have both found in each other
is dazzling and will forever be amazing;
what we both know is eternal
within each of us
is the music that comes out
from all of our hearts
that plays only for the one
we are meant to be with,
and every second that my heart sings out to you
I constantly never stop hearing
the beautiful voice of your heart’s calling.
No matter what happens around us,
I promise, my love, that our path is clear;
no matter what other people choose to obsess about,
I want you to always know that to me
you always will be the life and soul of my heart,
and since you first walked into my life
I have never been happier.
Nothing is more important than you and me;
I am yours, and you are my destiny;
no matter where we both are with each other,
as long as we are together
you and I will always be happy;
our bond is infinite;
our love is deep;
we are meant to be,
and I will always love you,
my beautiful Chikadee.
Mark The Poet 