When we all start down
upon a new path
no one can know exactly
where it will lead
nor who they will meet
along the way...
when we all begin again
in our attempt to find where
we are meant to be and with whom
no one can know how much
of who they are will remain
nor what about them
will ultimately change.
I have been walking down
a path of poetry for as long
as I can remember...
I have been running
through a forest of imagination
since I was a child...
I have been listening
to the sounds of nature
for as long as I have
been able to hear...
I have been seeing
the infinite possibilities
of life and the universe
since my mind was opened wide
after asking questions
and being given answers
that brought to life my love
of the mysterious of the unknown
that, to this day, still continue
to energize my thoughts
like the waves of light and colour
that can be seen while witnessing
the Northern Lights.
Once I have been somewhere,
I never forget where I have been
nor what I have seen...
once I have been somewhere,
I never forget how to return there -
because I have always had this innate gift
to be able to create a map
of places within my mind...
once I have been somewhere -
even a place that I may not
visit again for days, weeks, months,
even years afterwards -
I have always been able to
accurately navigate myself
back to where I was
with more clarity of memory
than if I were to attempt
to recall a dream...
once I have been somewhere,
I always create a connection to somewhere
that I can use, whenever I need,
to guide me back, as if I could
literally, and effortlessly, step back in time.
I have always been a dreamer...
I have always been hopeful
that the future will be something
that is always worth living for...
I have always loved my family,
and I have always loved
being inspired by people,
and by extraordinary experiences
that I have shared with significant others...
I have always looked forwards,
and I have always looked backwards -
because the future and the past
are always communicating with
one another,
and it has always been at the intersection
between these two extremes
where I have always found
the words to describe
what I feel with every fibre of my being
at a given moment
of pure poetic power...
I have always wanted to give back
more than I have received -
and throughout my life's journey
I have given a part of myself
to those whom I have met,
whom I have known,
whom I have inspired,
who have inspired me in return,
whether they know it or not -
because, all my life, I have been,
and I always shall be,
someone who is meant to
shine a light for those to follow,
like a lighthouse keeper,
a messenger, a traveller,
a navigator, a pathfinder.
inspiration
My New Book: ‘The Pathfinder’
Mark is very happy to announce that his new poetry collection, The Pathfinder, is now available to order in paperback from Amazon. The Pathfinder is a book about beginnings, endings, new beginnings – in essence: life… the poetry of life. The Pathfinder is Mark’s poetic and personal journey of discovery over the last year – but within there are verses and poems from his past that he had forgotten about, which still speak to the poetic truth within him, and within all of us throughout our lives.Get your copy of the paperback version of The Pathfinder from Amazon now: https://amzn.eu/d/aXnSwxa
My New Book ‘The Pathfinder’ – Out Now!
Everybody sometimes finds themselves at a crossroads of space and time. Everything and everyone is connected. When life can sometimes feel impossible to understand and hard to navigate, everybody needs to seek out a Pathfinder of poetry
who can help to show them the way.
Hi, everyone!
I am very happy to announce that my new poetry collection, The Pathfinder, is now available to order in paperback from Amazon.
The Pathfinder is a book about beginnings, endings, new beginnings – in essence: life… the poetry of life.
The Pathfinder is my poetic and personal journey of discovery over the last year – but within there are verses and poems from my past that I had forgotten about, which still speak to the poetic truth within me, and within all of us throughout our lives.
Get your copy of the paperback version of The Pathfinder from Amazon now, and look out for the ebook and audiobook versions coming soon.
Enjoy! 😊
-Mark
My Poem “Walking On Air”
When you fall in love with someone,
you become weak,
you become vulnerable,
you become different...
when you fall in love with someone,
you lose your identity -
because another is rising
to take its place...
when you fall in love with someone,
sometimes you get the feeling
that you once shared something
a long time ago -
perhaps in a previous life,
as seen through a filtered lens...
when you fall in love with someone,
everything around you feels blurred
in comparison to who now occupies
what you see and who you think about
all hours of the day...
when you fall in love with someone,
you instantly believe
that nothing and no one
could ever compare to them...
when you fall in love with someone,
you can't wait to spend every moment
in their presence and be hypnotised
by their entrancing glare...
when you fall in love with someone,
it almost feels as if this time
is the first time all over again...
when you fall in love with someone,
gravity itself does not feel as strong,
nor as important as it should -
because the force, the energy,
the power of love that songs
and poetry have been full of
since the first poets found a way
to capture the transformative
journey into the unknown
that our soul takes
when we all experience
the recurring sensation
of getting closer to the stars of the sky
than to the ground below our feet,
because we feel as if we are levitating
and walking on air.
My Poem “From One to Another”
It is always great to be able
to share what you know
about something that
you have learned a lot about
with friends, with family,
and with people who share
the same interests as you -
but whenever you meet someone who,
from the moment that you meet them,
seems to be talking the same language
that, for so long, you were led to believe
that only you could communicate in
and understand,
then there is always
a wave of energy
that touches you...
no matter how well and how long
someone may have known you,
it is only those who have
walked the same path as you,
it is only those who have had
similar experiences as you,
it is only those who have been born
with a similar gift as you -
whatever that may be -
who can truly understand you,
and why and how you do what you do.
When you are with someone
who, like you, can see order
where others only see chaos...
when you are with someone
who, like you, enjoys looking within
while others only look outwards...
when you are with someone
who, like you, has a reason for
why they invest so much of their time
connected to something that matters to them,
every interaction can feel so effortless -
while, when you are with others
who do not share the same
passion about something,
it can be hard to put into words
to someone who does not
speak the same way as you do,
who does feel the same way
about things as you do,
who does not wish for
the same things as you do,
why, when we find ourselves
somewhere in particular,
everything feels so natural.
There is a reason why like-minded
people attend conferences
and conventions that revolve around
a common endeavour or pastime...
there is a reason why some stereotypes are true
and why certain characteristics
about certain types of people do recur...
there is a reason why certain people -
from magicians to comedians,
from actors to writers,
from garderners to aficionados
who enjoy doing many different
individual and collaborative activities -
gather together and meet
without the feeling of guilt
that can stir within you sometimes
when you reveal to someone
something that you take pleasure in doing,
as if you have committed a crime...
there is a reason why
we all secretly seek out others
who we know will immediately understand
something fundamental about us
from the instant that our paths cross -
because nothing feels more refreshing
than conversing with someone when,
whatever you say to each other,
every word uttered
feels like the steps of a sprint
that rapidly transitions
from one to another.
My Poem “Pilgrimage”
We all know what it is like
to have the image of a person,
a place, or something in particular,
within our mind, that gifts us,
every time we think of them,
with a surge of energy,
enthusiasm, and power...
we all know what it is like
to be drawn to someone,
to somewhere, to something,
as if we were being pulled
towards them by a force like that of gravity,
to which we can believe
we are destined to go
so that something inside us
can be unlocked by using
them as if they were a key...
we all know the feeling of anticipation
that rises within us
when we start to get this instinct
that the time when we will one day
fulfil the promise of serendipity,
and make a dream come true,
and the voice of that which calls us
towards them, gets steadily louder...
we all know what it feels like
to be on a journey somewhere –
both familiar and unfamiliar –
and what it means to us
to return to somewhere special,
as well as to see something,
somewhere, that for so long
has seemed out of reach...
we all know what it takes
to do something that
we have never done before –
and sometimes we have to,
somehow, change how we think
about something in order
to be able to fully integrate
and interact with where we
find ourselves and with whom
we find ourselves with...
we all know what it is like to have
heroes whom we look up to
and whom we seek out for guidance
about what we should do
and perhaps where we should go next –
because every day everybody
is on a journey towards
something that will always
continue to be both tangible,
and yet far away –
because even when we finally
make it somewhere we have always wanted to go,
or after we finally meet someone
who we have always wanted to meet,
what matters is what happens afterwards
and as a result of the steps
that we all have to take
on our own individual and personal,
life-long and meaningful,
pilgrimages.
My Poem “What Comes Naturally”
When we are young
we invariably tend to try
many different things -
usually all at once -
until we are observed to be
gravitating to something in particular
more often than the other things
that have repeatedly occupied our attention -
whether that is a person,
a song, a story, a film,
or perhaps a character in TV show that,
for whatever reason, keeps us
coming back for more...
as we get older, we are found
to be engaged in an activity
that we had done over and over again -
because whatever we find enjoyment in doing
gives us the gift of something
we cannot get from anywhere else,
nor from anyone else...
while growing up, we are all
constantly being influenced
by those around us to participate
in something that other people
also like to do -
but, most of the time,
what we really want to do
is to be able to choose
the pursuit and the path
that to us is unparalleled by anything
that anybody else might recommend...
when we discover that
we have the freedom to be,
to do, and to go wherever we want,
we always choose the first thing
that comes to our mind -
but, sometimes, the conviction
necessary
to transform us into who we want to be
and to take us where we want to be
needs to be inspired by something
or someone else
that acts like a spark that ultimately
leads to a raging fire...
when we eventually find out
who and what we want to be
sometimes we can believe
that perhaps time has run out
and the opportunity to do
what we have always wanted to do
has long since passed,
because we let other things
get in the way of our dreams -
but the truth is that there really is
no time like the present
to make a life-long wish come true,
because no matter when
you start something new
you instantly discover
that the most important things in life
are those that come naturally.
My Poem “Repetition”
Everybody occasionally repeats themselves...
everybody eventually discovers
that they are a part of a cycle...
everybody returns to the same place
over and over again,
but every time everybody
finds themselves back
where they are used to being
they are always different -
even though where they are
may look exactly the same
and as if nothing has changed...
everybody sometimes catches
a glimpse of their own reflection
and they are taken aback
by the almost invisible
scars that they see -
and not just the ones
that might be present upon their face...
everybody remembers everything -
even though they may have
led themselves, and others,
to believe that some things
that may have happened
had been forgotten...
everybody always reveals more
about who they are -
especially the more
that they are observed trying,
and sometimes failing,
to break the bad habits
that they are known for;
however, with time, with experience,
with hindsight, everybody always gains
the wisdom that they need
to sever the chain of past behaviours
and forge new links
that will enable the revelation
of new possibilities and realities
that might not have been
thought possible before...
everybody sometimes feels
as if they are within
the event horizon of a black hole,
and stuck in an infinite revolution -
like an album being played,
and then replayed, on a loop;
but the truth is, no matter what
seemingly never-ending groove
you think you are stuck in,
everybody can always escape any trap
by simply realising where they are
and what they have been doing,
and then choosing to change
and to perhaps leap into the vortex
of what they cannot know -
and only then can everybody feel
the true sensation of release
that comes with the end
of something that someone may
have hoped and prayed for a long time
they could stop repeating.
My Poem “Let there be Poetry”
In the beginning,
there was something -
there always is;
however, then something else happened:
an explosion of energy and light,
and, in an instant, poetry
came into existence and continued
to create and reinvent itself,
over and over again,
until it eventually evolved into
life, sounds, images,
music, words, language,
vast connections that span
the multiverse of universes
and realities that currently exist,
and beyond -
and there is no sign
of it stopping any time soon.
Poetry has always been there…
poetry is always there in every moment,
and poetry will always be there
waiting to be seen, recorded,
recounted, and shared...
poetry is not just words -
poetry is like a fire
that burns without end...
poetry lies within the heart
of every person on Earth...
poetry has been there
within the dreams of everyone
who has ever lived
since the moment of their birth.
Since I first discovered poetry,
since I wrote my first poem,
since I first discovered that
becoming a poet and writing
my own poetry was my destiny,
since I started and I couldn't stop myself
from being inspired by everything and everybody,
I have been seeing the world
through the prism of infinite possibilities...
since I first started sharing
what I saw, what I heard,
what I felt, what means the most to me -
when I was gifted that first moment
of poetic serenity and clarity -
I have believed in the concept of causality,
I have believed that
everything happens for a reason
because it has to,
because it is meant to,
and when it comes to finding an explanation
as to why things happen in life
I have always believed in the old saying,
"What will be... will be" -
which is why I have always believed
there is always an answer for everything,
and that even in the darkest of times,
or during the brightest of days,
things have a way of showing us
just how much of life
is beyond our control and full of surprises,
but life also has an innate design to it
that is meant to repeat;
so, just as a long time ago
a phrase was uttered
that made the first light shine
across the cosmos, I say:
"let there be poetry",
so that people everywhere
may know what it means
to be free to be
who they are supposed to be
markthepoet.me 