This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Silent Light’, from his poetry collection The Rambler, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
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A Journey Through Poetry #18: Light and Dark
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Light and Dark’, from his poetry collection The Storyteller, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
My Poem “A Beacon of Light and Life”
As I walk through the shadows
and the streaks of sunlight
on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning,
as I listen to the sound of birdsong,
as I watch the ducks and the geese
awaken and then glide effortlessly
across the water of a nearby pond,
as the multiple white trails of jet planes
can be seen creating their own
patterns across the blue sky above,
I am once again reminded of how much
there is to be grateful for -
while I am also reminded of
what has been lost and who,
and what, will continue to stand
the test of time and nature.
As I look at the numerous green leaves of trees,
as I look at the intricacy of the petals of the flowers,
as I look at the blades of grass
as they move passively after
being touched by the tenderness
by the gentle breeze,
as I look across the rolling fields
and I see hay bales waiting to be collected,
I think back to simpler times
when I lived as if there was no tomorrow
and when I took the presence of people
in my life for granted without even knowing it.
As I see the poetry of life all around me,
as I glimpse moments of timelessness,
as I witness instances that make me
reflect upon the past, as well
as the world of the now,
I wonder about how far I have come
and how far I still have yet to travel,
and how my experience of life
is unique to me and to me alone -
but I also continue to feel as if,
though I am on a solo journey of discovery,
I have been, and I will always be, reminded
of the incredible connection that I have
always felt to this world of colour, beauty,
inspiration, stories, and change
that shines even amongst the other planets
of the heavens above, because to me it is
a haven of life and a beacon of light.
The Storyteller: Light and Dark
“Light and Dark” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
My Poem “Point of No Return”
Sometimes looking for inspiration
and trying to hear the voice
of the muse of poetry
is like attempting to find
the right frequency on a radio -
sometimes it comes through clear and distinctly,
sometimes you think you have got it
but then you lose it again,
and sometimes you find something
you never expected to find:
a melody, a song, a sound
that feels as if it were
waiting to be found
so that it could be captured and shared…
sometimes trying to make something
out of nothing can feel hard
when you cannot see anything
but a series of strewn components -
but when you reach a certain point
when you can see and decipher
signs that point towards
how seemingly random things
can all fit together like the pieces of a puzzle,
then you are able to see
why some things are not meant to be
what they are supposed to be
until they are ready to rise
like a loaf of bread.
Everyone was once a combination
of many different fragments -
subatomically, genetically, spiritually -
and then, for some reason,
we all returned and became
who and what we have all been destined to be
since the moment of our birth…
the sun, the moon, the dark matter
that binds the galaxies of the universe together,
were all once something else entirely -
not to mention our home world
that we owe our existence to:
the paradise that is planet Earth…
so much more has happened
over the course of the cosmos
than could ever be known, nor quantified -
including the dawn and the sunset
of countless lights that were once
beacons of hope and life
for now long-gone civilisations…
we can only remember, capture,
and preserve so much of what was
for the benefit of future generations.
Even before the first human began
measuring, recording,
and predicting the passage of time,
everything in existence has been
aware that there is a cosmic clock
that can only go in one direction,
and not in reverse -
which is essential to know
for our very survival…
even those who live
in a perpetual state of darkness
somehow can always know
when it is day and when it is night,
because something inside of us can always tell us what time it is -
whether we are basking in sunlight
or shielding underneath a shadow…
our biological senses
are all seemingly individual,
but sometimes some people
have a greater instinct and insight
into what it happening around them,
around others, and in other states of being
than lie beyond the veil of perception…
nobody lives the life they live
without having a clue or an idea
to hold on to that helps them
make sense out of the sometimes
chaotic world that greets them
when they attempt to connect
to what is going on, what people are doing,
what people are trying to say,
and what version of reality is being shared
on the constantly changing, evolving,
and sometimes repeating
multi-media landscape that humanity
has given birth to, feeds, sustains,
and will one day see transcend
and reach a point of no return
and perhaps beyond anyone’s ability stop.
My Poem “Trancendence”
The sun has gifted me
moments to love all my life -
from childhood memories
of playing in my garden with my sister,
to being taken to Disneyland Florida,
to riding my bike around my home village
over and over again,
to kisses with exes,
to sitting outside while enjoying
the sunshine as I drink
something to quench my thirst;
however there isn't a day that goes by
when I am not reminded that
all the time that we are gifted
is precious and fleeting,
and it is only when we look back
on Summer's gone by
that we start to realize
the world is constantly trying
to teach us something important:
none of us stay as we are,
because who we were
and those who we used to know
have become a part of
the history of our story
and they were never meant to be
anything other than what they became.
I can still recall memories
of people and places,
and I can still remember
the lasting impressions
that I felt at certain times -
but because I don't have
the same relationships
that I used to have with people,
and because I have learned
more life lessons than I can count
from all the errors
that I have made over the years,
I now feel a certain detachment
as I slowly drift further and further
away from where I came from,
who I used to be,
and who I used to believe I knew.
It occurs to me that I did not
think about the end of anything
when I was younger,
because I honestly believed
that things would
stay the same way forever -
and I can only blame myself
for having that childish mentality;
however, while growing up,
I was truly blessed by a loving family,
I was given unforgettable experiences,
I grew up at a time
when we didn't have as much
as children have now
but somehow I feel as if we had more,
and I slowly but surely
felt the awakening
of the most important,
precious, extraordinary, and phenomenal
surge of energy, light, and inspiration -
something that sometimes feels
like a magical and miraculous power
that I have always been fated to wield.
There are times when I do wonder
what would have happened if
fate had had other plans for me;
however, when I am sitting
and enjoying the sunshine
with my family and with those who know me and still love me,
it does not take me long
to snap back to the present
and realize what a gift time
with those whom you
share an unbreakable connection with
transcends everything.
The Pathfinder: Life’s Light
My Poem “Light and Dark”
There will always be things
that happen in life
that will forever be
out of our control...
there will always be things
that happen in the universe
that will happen whether
we observe them or not...
there will always be things
that happen to people
at a particular time,
in a particular place,
that will bind them to one another...
there will always be things
that happen that will have
a profound effect on people
in different ways.
At the time of an eclipse -
when people gather together
to watch the moon align perfectly
in between the Earth and the Sun
and obscure its light for a short time -
people young and old
can be brought to tears,
the usually talkative can be silenced,
and those who wonder
whether we are alone in the universe
look up and are given a sign,
as the Moon casts its shadow upon the Earth,
and there is always a palpable mixture
of thoughts, feelings, and emotions
that rise to the surface
of the collective consciousness
of individuals who may have
been looking forward
to what is taking place
for a long time -
because witnessing an eclipse
is, and has always been,
considered special, sacred, and momentous -
because it is an occurrence of significance
that is both predictable, and yet rare.
After light returns
to a world that has been
veiled in darkness,
there is always a universal wave
of energy and excitement
that washes over people...
when the details and the colours
of the world can once again
be seen as clearly and as vibrantly,
as they are meant to be,
people can feel a sensation
of renewal, of reinvigoration,
and as if they want to make plans
and achieve new goals...
after an eclipse, people always
look at everyone around them
and appreciate them more
than before for some reason -
most likely because they realize
what the presence of certain people
in their lives means to them,
and because they experienced
what it is like to not see others
at the same time that they felt
they were still right besides them.
After experiencing a shared moment
that has a profound impact
on the way that people
perceived one another
and their connection to the universe,
when people return to their daily lives
a fragment of what was witnessed
always remains within someone
and occasionally makes them wonder
what lasting impression
they may have been left
upon those whom they have met -
perhaps akin to the importance
of the sun being eclipsed by the moon,
and those who were there to observe it
who were instantly awestruck
as they watched day become night
and light become dark.
Mark The Poet 