There is a line between darkness and light... There is a state of mind between hope and fear... There is a place where both love and sadness reside... There is a world within where we all wear our inner smiles, and where we all shed our hidden tears. There is a reason for what we do that sometimes only we know... There is a mirror version of ourselves who tells us what is real rather than what we think is true... There is an endless kaleidoscope of memories and thoughts from our life that when we dream we go to... There is a path that people choose to take when they feel as if they have nothing left to lose. There is a balance that we all need to find... There is a cause that we all rally around because it means more to us than could be captured with words... There is a story that only we can tell - and by the act of sharing that which we have lived through the truth shines and eventually parts the clouds of deception and lies... There is something and someone important to us that we cling to whenever, and wherever, we know that we are somewhere that is a world between worlds.
meaning
My Poem “Adopt a Word”
Many years ago now I adopted a word - a word that would come to define me, a word that would come to inspire me, a word that would come to mean more to me than any other word - because as soon as I saw that word I knew who and what I was, because I knew that that word was me and had always been me... over the years I have used many words to describe what I have seen, what I have felt, what I believe, what people have meant and continue to mean to me - but there will only ever be one word that says more than I ever could about what it means to be someone like me: a dreamer, a storyteller, a writer - but not like any other, because the word that I found and which found me I have come to realize has a power of its own that can open doorways to places, that can bring back memories of the past, as well as give the gift of a vision of as-yet unrealised brand new worlds... many people have read what I have written, and when I am writing from the heart then what I write in every way is all me and my life, as told through my poetry... many languages are spoken, many languages are there to be read, many people are constantly looking for a purpose to their life and for the reason why they are alive - and from the moment that I started down my path through life and I started to see beauty in every facet of the world, I knew that when I chose the word "Poet" I had adopted a word that was in every way who I was and who I would always be.
My Poem “Under your skin”
When someone or something gets under your skin it can sometimes be hard to rid yourself of them... when someone or something changes something fundamental about you it can sometimes be hard to wipe them clean from your mind... when you lose someone or something that gave you the gift of something amazing when you first met them it can be hard to try and erase them from your life... when someone or something influences you like a drug it can be hard to detoxify... when someone or something fills your heart with love it can be hard to deny what to you feels so true it could not be a lie... when someone or something leaves their mark upon you it can be even more indellible than a tattoo and too deep to ever be seen... when someone or something makes you feel better about yourself than you have felt in your entire life then you know that though they may no longer be around physically who and what they meant to you will always remain with you under your skin.
The Mark Hastings Experience – Season 3, Episode #4: “Life + Death”
My Poem “That which matters most”
Out of sight does not always mean out of mind…
sometimes it can be those people
who we do not get to see all the time,
because they live so far away,
who can be everything that we think about
and dream about every minute of every day…
sometimes it can be the people
who we do not talk to for days, weeks, months,
or even years who regularly to show up
in our thoughts like a reflection in a mirror –
and even though things may no longer
be as they were the history of everybody
is filled with moments when we all
learn what comes naturally
and what in life we sometimes need to earn.
It is so easy to lose things in life…
it is so easy to lose people in life…
it is so easy to lose perspective –
which is why sometimes we all need
to fight to understand what went wrong
as well as what went right…
it is so easy for us all to lose time –
which is why we all need to make
every second count and make every word
that we speak last like the legacy
of a light that we may only see
when the sky is as dark as night.
Things can sometimes be hard to handle…
situations can at times be hard to deal with…
feelings and emotions can often
be hard to carry around with you
while you are still attempting to act
as if everything is fine –
because the light that you live by
can at times feel as temporary
as that of the flame of a candle.
Life is my favourite thing about the universe,
because as someone once said:
“where there is life there is hope” –
and while I live and breathe I will always believe
that having the gift to wake up
and gaze at the beauty of the world
and wonder about who and what
makes it work, and why,
is what gives every day its meaning –
because the truth is that meaning
is what gives everything and everyone
that which matters most.
My Poem “Rhyme & Reason”
The purpose of life is to live…
the meaning of life is to enjoy
the time that you have alongside
whomever you share your journey with…
the purpose of a sunset and a sunrise
is so that we may all realise
that there are things in this life that we
have no control over, which are bigger than ourselves,
from which we can all benefit…
the purpose of our imagination
is to enable us to understand the world
around us by using the power of our
own internal storytelling potential
to conjure and to decipher the characters,
the details, the plot, and the intentions
of those who give our world meaning –
just like the heroes whose tales fill
the texts of the worlds most ancient myths
and once provided its contemporary audiences
an opera of other-worldly thrills.
The original purpose of something
can be lost over time after it’s creator
has passed on and when the knowledge
of a once every day technology is
replaced by another…
the meaning behind why an expedition
was originally undertaken is sometimes lost
when adventurers and explorers
reach the end of the world
and they are unable to accurately
share what they saw when they walked
through the revolving door of mortality…
the origin of a word always remains the same,
however the meaning of a particular word
after every time it is translated
can over time lead to incomprehensibility…
no one alive today was there to take
a self-portrait of themselves
when the original flash of light
that began the universe took place –
which is why when it comes to questions
of how, when, why, and for what reason
we are all here all comes down to faith,
to interpretation, to preference,
to knowledge, to feeling,
and to the rhyme and the reason of
some incomprehensible poetry.
The original purpose of something
can be lost over time after it’s creator
has passed on and when the knowledge
of a once every day technology is
replaced by another…
the meaning behind why an expedition
was originally undertaken is sometimes lost
when adventurers and explorers
reach the end of the world
and they are unable to accurately
share what they saw when they walked
through the revolving door of mortality…
the origin of a word always remains the same,
however the meaning of a particular word after every time it is translated
can over time lead to incomprehensibility…
no one alive today was there to take
a self-portrait of themselves
when the original flash of light
that began the universe took place –
which is why when it comes to questions of how, when, why, and for what reason
we are all here all comes down to faith,
to interpretation, to preference,
to knowledge, to feeling,
and to the rhyme and the reason of
some incomprehensible poetry.
My Poem “Momentary Meditation”
All the sounds around us
can sometimes echo
and be distorted by the voices
and by the noises of every life –
so much so that it can be hard
to keep your thoughts focused on
what and who keeps running back
and forth through your mind.
The cacophonous chaos of the world
can at times make it hard to find the
peace and the calmness that everybody
occasionally needs to keep them alive…
everybody – no matter who they are –
could definitely benefit from taking
some time to close their eyes,
to switch off from the distractions
of memories, instincts, emotions,
hopes, wants, and desires,
so that they may attain some sense
of enlightenment as to who and what
is their source of inner light.
The shining moon and the stars of night,
as well as the bright blue sky of day,
have long been canvas for oracles
who have successfully guided people
and have provided visions of what is necessary,
what is natural, what feels familiar,
and what makes sense when thinking
about the who, what, where, when and why.
Time is precious and finding the time
to do things can feel like a luxury,
but if we do not all take advantage
of moments when we are not doing
anything in particular, apart from
perhaps waiting for the other shoe to drop,
to just stop, to breathe, to look into the distance
at the same time that we are looking within,
so that we can listen to the constant
broadcast of our own biological radio station
when it’s frequency mixes with that
of everything and everyone who
is also deeply resonating as well as receiving
profoundly meaningful revelations
via a deliberate or an accidental
practice of momentary meditation
wherever and whenever that they find themselves.
My Poem “Everything means something”
With every leaf that falls,
with every moment that passes,
with every word that is spoken,
each of us always want more:
more time with certain people,
more things to enjoy,
more experiences to one day recall,
more gifts of the life that we have been given –
because the world is not enough,
because the universe is constantly
changing and evolving,
and we all want to be there
when the next quantum leap
in something becomes an every day thing.
With every year that seemingly flies by,
I am reminded of just how precious
every word, every smile,
every touch, every look into the eye
of someone who matters to me is,
because what we have with people
has an end time –
not in an emotional sense,
but most definitely in a physical sense –
which is why as I get older I consider
people of significance to me
as if they were flowers,
butterflies, or fireflies,
because the indefinable colours
and the spark of life that makes
somebody who and what they are
transitions over time into
becoming something entirely different.
With every new season,
we see changes in colour,
we see changes in light,
we see changes in perspective,
and we see changes in
our perception of time:
as some people get older
a new day’s sunrise and a sunset
seemingly happens within
the blink of an eye of one another
and days can be experienced
as if they were minutes or hours –
which is why I believe now
more than ever what has been
told to me all my life:
never forget where you came from
nor what the cost was for you
to have who and what you have
in your life –
because, when you think of it,
everything means something.
My Poem “Impressionable”
Since I was a child
I have always been impressionable…
since I was a boy
I have been profoundly impacted
by many sources of entertainment
that subconsciously
left their mark upon me…
since I first started to be drawn
to the images of screens, the words of books,
and the ultrasonic magnificence of music
I have been changed little by little…
since I first began going on journeys
with fictional characters who
inhabited many different worlds
and who lived many different lives
I have been led to believe and to imagine
that what I was shown or gifted
the vision of was a real and true
possibility in some distant
and distinctive alternate reality.
In retrospect, I believe that my childhood
was and still is a treasure trove
and a goldmine of inspiring stories,
visuals, music, and feelings
that over time I saved within my memory
until the day when I would need
a boost of inspirational energy
to help fuel the poetry and the stories
that I would ultimately come to tell…
I truly believe that had I not grown up
how, when, where, and with whom
I grew up with my life would
have turned out very differently
and I would not have been able
to get through some of the things
in my life that led to me to learning from
all the lessons that I now know so well.
There were books that I read,
there were songs that I listened to,
there were TV shows and movies
that I watched over and over again as a child
that I loved and I thought I knew
everything about and every moment of
that when I rewatch and when I replay
them now I realise they were full
of many subtle, but amazing,
details and messages that have
a different, but still just as incredible,
effect upon me that reminds me
why it is sometimes important to return
to something or to somewhere that you
think you know like the back of your hand –
because everyone and everywhere
has more layers and levels of meaning
to reveal about themselves,
especially to those of us who have this
insatiable curiosity about so many things,
who are at their heart someone
who is and who always has been
unashamedly impressionable.
markthepoet.me 