Everybody envisions that they are the centre of their own universe... when we are children we believe, and we can come to expect, that what we want we will always get... everybody can imagine that there will come a time when we will believe that we have nothing more to learn; however, things are not always as they seem, things are not always as they appear to be in our dreams - because things change, people come and people go, life expands beyond the confines of an imaginary frame, people teach us who we are in ways that only someone who is an observer of us can expose... over time the gift within each of us calls out for someone to hear it, to notice it, to identify it, to give it a spotlight - however, the bright spark present within some people may only show itself in a flash just long enough to influence another person into remembering and recalling who they were, who they are and who they will always be - and if you who are reading this right now then you know that you have the power to be who you want to be.
influence
My Poem “Maelstrom”
Nature is always showing
its utter dominance
and its powerful influence over humanity…
the nature of the world
is constantly acting independent to,
and without any thought of,
how the after effects of its actions
will impact upon all of its inhabitants –
however, some inhabitants of the world
sometimes seemingly act
with just as much disregard
and impunity for how their actions
will ultimately impact upon nature.
When a huge storm rages
there always follows intolerable
damage, destruction, and loss,
and it can sometimes be hard
to pick up the pieces and recover
from what no one and nothing
has any control over –
namely the ever changing weather
and the cocktail of elelments
that all build up to such high levels
of instability and volatility
that they naturally have to create
and generate that which must be
expelled in order to once regain
a sense of order and stability.
Severe storms can literally
change the face of nature –
and so many meteorological phenomenon
have been observed and have
been carried out by nature
since the weather patterns of Earth
began to take shape,
and a long time before humanity
in any form rose to become a vital
and influential voice in the future
of our home planet
and how nature will treat
humanity as a response.
The influence that we have on nature,
the way that nature can influence us,
the equilibrium that we must have with nature
if we are to survive,
is fundamental and it must be recognised
and respected for being what it is:
namely the greatest example
of symbiosis that has ever been observed –
which is why we should all do
everything that we can to think about
why things are the way that they,
how humanity collectively effects
itself and the world that it is
lucky to call home
and all the gifts and the opportunities
that our little blue sphere affords
every form of life on this planet.
We all need to be more concerned
with where we are all going and why
before it is too late
to turn back the clock entirely,
and we must all do our part
to attempt to heal the wounds
that we have scarred nature with
before the high tides of the seas
that have been littered for years
with the fragments of lasting modernity
return to humanity a maelstrom
of their own making.
My Poem “Under the influence”
Everybody is always
under the influence of something
or someone – however, sometimes
the strings of influence are so
faint that they almost look
invisible to the eye
even though, within our minds,
our thoughts and our feelings
are unquestionably being coaxed
into changing how we see the world,
how we think about the world,
how we interpret the world,
how we interact with the world –
and the reason why we are who we are
and why the world is the way that is it
can all be traced back to the power
that certain things, certain people,
certain circumstances, certain environments,
perhaps to certain opportunities when, where,
and how a small group of individuals
were inspired and influenced
to think something that
no one had ever thought before,
to believe something that
no one had ever believed before,
and to do something that
no one had ever done before,
and fundamentally change
and effect everything;
and the reason that we know
everybody who has ever lived
has been influenced by something,
at some time or another,
is because previous generations
always like to leave testaments
and echoes of themselves
for future generations to follow,
analyze, and interpret,
but without the true intention
of the creator in front of them
to compare the constantly evolving
product and result thereof.
Sometimes influences can easily
be seen, felt, and experienced –
because they are intentional…
sometimes influences are accidental…
sometimes influences can be like
a positive push by someone who
thinks that you have within you
the potential for something
that needs to be realized…
sometimes some influences can be bad,
counter-productive, or potentially dangerous –
especially those influences
that make you feel confused, angry,
or sad immediately after you
have been influenced by them.
Every day everybody is bombarded
by influences of every kind –
from the sun shining in the sky
to the sight of someone’s beautiful smile
that always fills you with love
at the same time that it makes you want to cry,
from a song on the radio that
compels you to sing-a-long
to an advertisement on television
trying to sell you something –
and that along the lines of how things have been,
that is how things will always be,
who the human race is as a species
and that is who we will always be, in some way:
under the influence.
My Poem “The Driving Force”
I have been inspired
by so many things
since I was a child:
television shows, films,
books, art, music, places, people –
and everything that I have
had a profound encounter with
has ultimately changed me
in some way, shape, or form;
however, like the after-effects
of a power-outage, as a result
of a bolt of lightning
from an electrical storm,
the realization and the rebooting
of my thoughts, feelings, and emotions
sometimes takes time to adapt
to such a new infusion of inspiration.
Every day I find new things to cherish
about some of the things that I know
like the back of my hand –
but that is the thing about life:
surprises can be found around every corner,
even in the places you visit
more often than most.
It can sometimes be hard to pin-point
where, when, and why something
in particular has the effect on you
that it always does –
but there is never any question
of how something so powerful
gets under your skin
and drives its presence deep within you,
because whether we want to admit it,
or not, each and every one of us
is inherently, biologically,
thin-skinned and fragile,
and easily capable of being influenced.
We are all a product and the end result
of so many influences:
our environment, our family, our friends,
our colleagues, our victories, our loses,
what we intake into our body,
what we subconsciously choose
to expose ourselves to via our senses –
and, ultimately, sometimes at the exact
same time that we are being
driven to distraction,
we can also be the driving force
propelling the thoughts, the feelings,
and the direction of other people
who we too are fueling with our gift
of attention and inspiration.
My Poem “Speaking Freely
It’s so great to be able
to breathe again…
it’s so great to be able
to talk again…
it’s so great to be able
to walk around freely
and be inspired
by what I see again…
it’s so great to be able
to have the opportunity
and the precious gift of time
to weave a new rhyme
with the ink from my pen again –
because I have missed being able
to breathe unhindered,
I have missed being able
to express myself with a stream
of unbroken speech,
I have missed going on a walkabout
to nowhere in particular
and silently picking up ideas and observations
about everything along the way…
I have missed doing what I love to do –
no matter where I am
or the current mood I am in –
and the past time of the poet
and the blessing of the tranquil:
the dream of being able to influence
the world in more ways
than could ever be known.
My Poem “Synchronicity”
Hope for the best…
be the best at what you do…
look for the best in everything…
make the best of what comes to you.
Every day is a test…
every day is a puzzle…
every day is both simple and complex…
every day is one of an infinite number
in the age of the universe –
and yet every day is special in some way,
shape, or form, because every day is not
the same as any other…
every day is as precious
and as ephemeral and as transient
as a dream or a bubble.
In this life, you have to be prepared
for the unexpected – but, at the same time,
be flexible and mindful that whatever plans
you make may need some slight adjustments
along the way in order to make them
come to fruition…
in this life, you sometimes have to use
your intuition about something
in order to give you the much needed
motivation to not be disheartened
by the negative voices
that are sometimes directed
in your direction.
Being a dreamer does not mean
that you live in a fantasy –
every idea that ever became
a reality was once the dream
and the wish of someone with a vision
of a world that they could one day
influence and leave their mark upon.
Being human means that you sometimes
have to see the end before the beginning,
you have to leap before you look,
you have to let your mind wander
and let your thoughts influence your actions,
you have to fall on your face,
get back up, and never stop
believing in the good that can come
from following and using your inner
search engine of inspiration –
filled with a life-time of moments,
images, sounds, and feelings –
that is your life and has the power
to influence the course of your life
far into the future and give you
the answer, the truth, the path,
the direction that will one day
synchronize and symbolize
every moment of your life.
My Poem “New Horizons”
Every day, beginnings
and endings exist and play out
in parallel to one another:
on one side of the same world
one person can be looking
at the sun rising at the dawn of day,
while another can be looking up
at the moon and the stars
of the twilight hours of the night…
everybody lives in different worlds,
living different lives –
even people sitting three feet away
from one another, in the same cafe,
can be thinking, feeling, living,
and breathing in vastly different ways.
Everybody in their life has a path;
however, that does not mean
that the steps that need to be taken
in order to reach the place of potential
are always going to be straight
and easy to be traversed…
every day since the start of recorded
human history empires have fallen
and new dynasties have risen
to fill the vacuum left
when one piece of the tapestry of life
is cut away because it no longer
fits with the modern world that it exists within.
Without exception everybody,
at some point in their life,
has made multiple mistakes –
and often times everybody has to find
a way to adapt and to coexist
with the intentions, the actions,
and the waves of change caused
by people who influence the people of the world
through their words but who live
far removed and untouchable from those
whom they claim to speak for
often times from behind walls and gates
and in castles and in high-towers
which have a power-structure
that has existed for centuries
among many human societies around the world.
What is built must one day self-realize
that there will come a time
when the end is a necessary component
of reinvention, revitalization, renewal,
so that something can continue to be relevant
beyond the time of their prime –
and that goes for the people,
businesses, brands, and opinions
that have existed around the world…
every day there are new lives being born
and every instant there are new universes
coming into existence that are off-shoots
of other universes…
every moment there are things that happen,
there are things that are seen,
there are things and there are people
that change the world and open the windows
and the doors to brand new horizons.
My Poem ‘The Night Club’
It always been amazing to me
how a song or a piece of music
can make you and can teach you
how to move to it
within seconds of first hearing it;
it has always been inspiring to me
how a memorable character in a story
can have the unknown power
to come into the physical world
and walk around in it;
it has always been fascinating to me
why some people, no matter how soundly
they may be sleeping
wake up early in the morning,
and, just like me, begin creating;
it has always been gratifying to me
to see people sharing what they can
and keeping alive the memory
of a phenomenal feeling.
I have always been a quick study;
I have always been fast on my feet,
as well as fast in thought
and luminous and strong in spirit;
I have always known that
there are multiple levels to a story;
I have always felt just as comfortable,
alive, and sensitive to what surrounds me
in the beautiful light of a sunny day,
as I do walking in the dark
in the moonlight of night.
Everyone is a catalyst;
every day is a new day
that has echoes of the days before
as well as foreshadowing of the days that will follow;
every time you do anything
you are taking a risk;
every eventuality can evolve
from fantasy to reality at any moment
anywhere you go.
When you unexpectedly wake up,
you are being awoken for a reason;
when you randomly find something
that has been left by somebody,
that thing was left purposefully
so that you could find it
and so that it could influence
your life in some way;
when you see something, feel something,
and something within you is changed;
when you know that you are forever in love;
when you know your place,
when you know your time,
when you find yourself awake
and energized like never before –
reading, writing, watching, walking,
listening, loving every moment,
even if that place and time
is midday in the afternoon
or 1 o’clock in the morning –
and you discover that you are a member
and a reveler like so many other people
who are in their element being a star
in the constellation of a night club.
My Poem ‘Artistscope’
When you have a gift
you need to show it;
when you have a natural talent
you need to share it;
when you have a personality
that is wonderful and magnetic
you need to let your light shine;
when you look at life
and you are instantly attracted
to its amazing wonders,
especially if you are an artist,
then you need to capture
those miracles of the world
and of your imagination
and give them everlasting life.
Artists are the most amazing,
phenomenal, sensitive, wonderful
and expressive people you will ever meet,
and every time I make a connection
with a fellow artist I become inspired
just by seeing, sensing,
and touching their spirit;
some people understand art,
and some people don’t –
but one of the most incredible gifts
of an artist is their exceptional power
to distinctively emote;
there are artists living
on every continent on Earth,
and every one has their own
unique style and way
of expressing themselves through their art,
and every artist’s art is always influenced
and infused by what surrounds them
and the studio that is also their home.
You can watch an artist
make art wherever you are;
you can see the passion, the love,
the heart of an artist who creates
masterpieces one after another,
like the awesome LA artist Amanda Oleander,
thousands of miles away
thanks to the instantaneous technology
of the 21st century;
you can be witness to an immersive,
profound and defining moment for you
and for an artist and give them a part of you
and be with them in spirit
every second of every day of the week –
from Monday to Sunday.
Art is not bound by time,
nor are it’s artists;
art is happening 24-hours a day,
7 days a week, 365 days a year,
and art in so many of its forms
can make you smile, inspire your dreams,
make you feel something you have never felt,
and it can bring you to tears.
I feel blessed to have known
and to have met artists from all walks of life,
from all around the world,
who truly inspire me every day
with the amazing things that they were born to do;
I look to my fellow artists
when I want to see and feel empowered with hope;
art can and will always change the world,
and if you are not an artist
and you want to bring the most spectacular
rainbow of colour into your life
seek out an artist and prepare to be amazed
and awestruck by what you see
when you look through their artistic periscope.
Mark The Poet 