We learn to love from the moment that we are born, from the moment that we open our eyes for the first time and we see the face of the one who gave us the gift of life... we learn what love is as our thoughts, feelings, and our emotions blossom and develop to a point where we know what we want and who makes us feel what we have always wanted to feel. We learn what it is like to feel as if our heart has been physically ripped out of our chest when our heart is broken, when we feel like we will never recover after someone who we cared deeply for decided, for whatever reason, to go their own way and say goodbye. We learn what it is like to feel renewed, to feel reinvigorated, and to have been given a reinfusion of hope when we find someone and, from the moment that we see them, we fall in love and we believe that we know them just as much as they know us - and that from that first look, that first touch, what you share will be forever - but the truth is if you truly want to know someone sometimes it can take a while. We learn when to say some things and when it is not necessary to say anything at all when we spend more and more time with someone and we develop an almost psychic bond that goes beyond the sound of our voice... we learn that sometimes we are compelled to do things because of how we feel that can manifest in actions beyond even our own understanding... we learn that when we say "I love you" to someone sometimes it is because we do not have a choice... we learn that sometimes in life we all have to sacrifice something to someone - because, by doing so, our actions show that when it comes to being in love we will do whatever it takes to be loved and to keep on loving.
loving
My Poem ‘Plane-spotting’
There are things that I remember
from when I was a kid
that are still so full of colour
and still so vivid and clear…
there are places that are forever
preserved within my memory
from when I was a child
that I can always return to
within the blink of an eye…
there are times when you think back
on your life and your memory
can play tricks on you
and you can accidentally and falsely
remember things that never really happened –
but, when I close my eyes
and I think back to being ten years-old again,
on a summer Sunday evening
just before the sun went down,
and I can see my Mum, my little-sister,
my Dad, and I can see my own face
being reflected in the rear-view mirror
of our family car as we prepare to go home
after a busy afternoon of plane-spotting.
My Dad has always been a train-spotter,
a plane-spotter, a car-driver,
and when he was younger
he was even a motorcycle-rider…
my Dad has always been a music-lover…
my Dad has always been the best father…
my Dad has always been of a lover
rather than a fighter…
I learned from a young age
that when it comes to deciding
and knowing what the best thing to do
in any given situation at any time of the day or night,
then my Dad is the one who always knows better.
Everybody who has ever met my Dad
never forgets my Dad –
my Dad has one of those faces
that hasn’t changed that much since he was a school-boy
growing up in his home-village of Coleshill…
when I was younger, as a family
we were always going to airports and air-shows
so that we could see and marvel
at the aircraft that we saw souring through the sky,
and my Dad always knew what every plane was
and he could tell you what type they were
with a single look…
going to places with my family when I was a kid
are timeless memories that I will never forget
because they mean so much to me…
I will always remember those moments
when I would look at my Dad
and I could see the genuine joy
that he took from being with his family
who he loved while he did something
that he had been doing since he was a kid…
whenever I see a plane taking off now,
or whenever I am flying on a plane as a passenger,
I always flash-back to when I was a boy
when my Dad would pack up the car
and we as a family would all go
plane-spotting.
Mark The Poet 