From time to time
everybody finds themselves
seemingly existing within a bubble
of space and time in which
it feels impossible to ascertain
how long you have been inside,
nor able to imagine being free of it,
because more often than not
we don’t realise what has happened to us,
nor how we found ourselves captured
with no thought of escaping…
people often stay somewhere,
doing the same thing, for years
before they start to question their place;
however when something happens,
perhaps when someone finds a way to leave
the confines of the barrier surrounding them
and they walk away with their head held high,
doubt can start to creep into the mind of those
who believe they have more to offer
than what they have been doing day after day
and something inside feels as if
it has started to change…
when you have been somewhere a long time
just the thought of not being there any longer,
surrounded by the people you have been around
more than even your family,
can be a scary thought -
but after something happens
that has an effect on the way that someone
feels about being somewhere,
that is when so many people
start to feel this surge of courage
brimming within them and encouraging
them to do what they may never
have anticipated doing;
however, everyone has their limits…
sometimes it is only when you can look backwards
upon somewhere you used to be
that you can give an honest assessment
on what happened, as well as when,
why, and how you decided to take
a leap into the unknown and make a move
towards where you found yourself
and doing what you ended up doing -
sometimes you can look back
and wonder whether you made
the right choice at the right time,
or whether you should have stayed
where you were and not been eager to leave
somewhere you knew well
for somewhere you did not know;
however, more often than not,
I would say that most people who
find themselves seemingly stuck somewhere,
and doing something they have no interest in
but just pays the bills and keep a roof over their head,
would undoubtedly jump at any chance
to see what would happen if they were to
take a shot in the dark and go wherever
and whenever their heart tells them to go,
and if they could anyone would
do the seemingly impossible
and break free of the bubble
that might have been holding them back.
Mental health
My Poem “The Pretender”
It is often warranted
for each and every one of us
to sometimes have to blend into
whatever environment and people
we find ourselves surrounded by
as somewhat of a defence mechanism -
like a chameleon or an octopus does -
and sometimes having to mimic whomever
and whatever may see us as someone
and something that may be threatening to them
in more subtle ways than even they might be aware…
the ability to be able to camouflage yourself
and make yourself appear somewhat invisible
and less intimidating is a gift, a skill,
an ability, and an opportunity
that should never be taken for granted -
because those of us who are capable
of seemingly making others believe
that they are something and someone else
by using their innate talents to project
an image, an identity, a persona, a facade
over their true self is someone and something
capable of doing anything and going anywhere.
Some people feel more comfortable, confident,
and content when they are presented themselves
and acting as if they are something and someone else,
and some people are able to do things
while wearing a mask that they could not
and would not be able to otherwise -
for some people the mask they wear is physical,
and for others the change to another
of their personalities is more subtle
and harder to see until someone acts
seemingly “out of character”…
some people have a noticeable
different side to them that is darker,
dangerous, and decidedly more deadly
than how they might usually portray themselves
and may usually be perceived
and described by others.
There are many ways that people use
to disguise their feelings and their intentions,
and some people live in secret for so long
they can even fool themselves into believing
that they are who they want others to see them as -
that is until they are seemingly “found out”
and revealed to be something and someone
unexpected,
and that is when any and every layer of deception
starts to disappear until only the most basic
and true of faces can be seen for who and what they are;
however, there are some people who can
effectively leap from one dimension
of themselves to another
so effortlessly and so efficiently
that they do not even have to blink
before moving on to becoming
another character, with another story,
over and over again -
because some people are just
too good at being a “pretender”.
My Poem “The Good Old Days”
Life never ceases to amaze me
and to surprise me in so many ways…
I have been aware for a while now
that life is not always going to be,
nor meant to be, a straightforward path
that connects point A to point B…
life never stops inspiring me
and making me think…
I have always known that sometimes
things happen because they are meant to happen -
both the good and the bad,
both the expected and the unexpected;
however, life is constantly reminding me
that there is a lattice of interconnected
strands that bind us all to one another -
especially those of us who have worked together,
those of us who have worked alongside one another,
and those of us who worked as a team
and accomplished something because we knew
we could count on each other
no matter what had to be faced.
No one can know what is going to happen
whenever once parallel and intersectional paths
diverge after a choice is made and a decision is taken
to make a change for a reason
that makes perfect sense at a particular moment in time…
no one can truly predict what will happen in the future,
because life is not always the product
of what we want and what we think it will be…
no one is in a position to control what will happen,
nor when, because none of us have the omnipotent power
to change the course of events that may have
been set into motion decades earlier
because of the fact that the universe wishes
things to happen in a certain fashion;
however, sometimes something happens -
like meeting someone who you haven’t seen for many years,
and it is like no time has passed
because who they are
and who they have always been hasn’t changed -
and you find yourself looking at the world,
as well as at yourself and others,
and thinking to yourself that there has to be
something more to why things happen than we
could ever truly know or understand.
It is sometimes hard to believe what has happened
and how long it has been since
you were someone, somewhere, doing something,
because sometimes, somehow,
you can realise that so much has happened,
so much has changed, and so much is happening
all around us, as well as because of us and others -
which is why when you happen to be
in the same place and at the same time
as someone who you know, but someone who
you may not have seen nor heard from in a long time,
it can be such a great feeling and such a wonderful experience;
especially if you and the person you have
crossed paths with were once friends or colleagues
who share a history of memories with one another.
So much of life and time is still mysterious
to a great many of people,
because so many of the intricacies of why things happen
are not blatant and obvious unless you know
what to look for, as well as when and where;
however, I am always looking for those details
and those strands of connection that I have seen
and I feel all around me like a web -
and I am always cogent of my own perception of life
and my ability to be able to leap back in time
to where and when I used to be, and with whom I am with,
and I have had countless experiences
when I have seen someone again,
or found something again,
or I have been somewhere again,
and I have been immediately reminded
and transported back to “the good old days”.
My Poem “The Insider”
Everybody loves being an insider…
everyone loves being someone in the know…
everybody loves it when they know something
that not everyone else does…
everyone loves being told a secret by someone
and then told “don’t tell anyone”.
There is always more going on behind the scenes
of anything and everything that we see and do…
there is always more going on behind someone’s eyes
than could ever be imagined, nor described…
there is always more going on below the surface
of a moment of silence and stillness
than could ever be captured with words,
nor with a photograph…
there is always more going on above us
and around us than anyone could ever be conscious of;
however, most likely unconsciously,
the fate of everyone and everything
is inevitably and inextricably linked to one another -
because every moment of every world
always overlaps with one another,
like a waking dream of instinct and intuition
that is constantly changing, evolving, echoing,
connecting, and communicating with one another.
Some people are good at keeping things to themselves;
however there are some people who
can’t help themselves from telling everybody
everything they have been told -
despite being told not to…
some people are good at disguising their emotions
and find it easy to be duplicitous
even to those they are closest to,
because they know they must;
however there are some people who
have been caught out disclosing
something not meant to be shared
and the consequences of this
have had a more profound and far reaching
impact than might have been thought, nor expected.
Every question ever posed
and every mystery that has arisen
all have something in common:
they all have an answer;
and for every question and mystery
of this world and beyond
there are many who would do
whatever they could to be the one
who uncovered the truth,
or who made the discovery -
and no matter who we are, where we go,
what we do, when it is, why we choose
to believe that we have finally reached
the end of our journey and search for how
things were the way that they were,
and perhaps still are,
each of us will always inevitably
one day find out that there is, was,
and always will be someone else
who knows more about something
than we thought they did;
nevertheless, even if it is only
for a short period of time -
or perhaps for what turns out to be
the better part of a lifetime -
everyone would surely agree
that sometimes it’s good to be an insider.
My Poem “Punk”
So much has changed…
the world is so different…
when you look at the world we live in
can you believe that this is
what everything and everyone has come to?
From music to movies;
from the way we entertain ourselves
to who we choose to entertain us;
from the easy access to instant knowledge
to the immediate interconnectivity
we have with one others all around the world;
it’s sometimes hard to believe
that we have allowed ourselves to be
brought to this state of being that we are now in:
a world of perpetual uncertainty
where the rich seem to be calling all the shots
and the poor are suffering like never before;
a war of fear, instability, intimidation, and violence
being committed under the guise of securing peace…
the problem with having lived through
multiple states of change and having witnessed
things go from good to bad to worse,
if you are still someone with the clarity of perception,
you realise and you know that people
may have been better off before
we started allowing algorithms to determine
how, what, where, when, and why
we chose to do what we did -
because some days it is more obvious than others
that we are living in an age of mass social anxiety,
mental health issues, and manipulation
at the hands of those with
all the resources and power in the world.
This world is not the same
as it was when I was younger…
this planet has become
even more dangerous
than it was supposed to be…
this reality sometimes feels to unreal
that people believe we are living in a simulation -
because the way things are sometimes seems
so out of the ordinary and as if
everything and everyone is being directed
towards a particular goal and end point,
like the plot of a film, a book, or a video game…
the societies of the globe have never felt more
at odds with one another and as if
everything and everyone is teetering
on the edge of a fall from which
there may never be any recovery from,
because tensions are so high
and so many people are dying
because of the aggressive nature of those
who want to control as much as possible
just because they can.
I think we have collectively lost
more than we have gained as a species,
as a planet, as a whole,
and the problem is no one can stop
what was started years ago before,
because this world is far too deep
into the delusion and the illusion
that is daily veiled over the vast majority of people -
and as a result no one can tell
what is true and what is false,
what is real and what is fantasy,
not to mention whether who and what
we see on a screen is factually accurate
or fabricated by A.I.
and that is why it is so important
to not take anything you see or hear
virtually as being the truth until
you see and you hear the same thing
from a variety of sources,
because it is so easy to be fooled
by the clowns who have become
the enemy of the people
while claiming to represent
and have the best interests
of the majority of the population
of the world at the forefront of their mind -
when in actuality there are so many
“leaders” who are harming the people of the world
in more ways than they could ever realise
or care to take a concerted interest in;
however, that is why I believe
the world will always need those
who have never wanted to be a part of the mainstream,
those who people who know that
absolute power corrupts absolutely,
and those who just want to be
who and what they are and don’t care about
who and what they are supposed to be
and what they are supposed to do -
because this world is full of so many people
who will tell you what you want to hear,
but the real truth tellers are those who might
count themselves as a member of the community
of the world who rebel against the idea of conformity
and who are at their heart a life long “punk”.
My Poem “Simpatico”
Ever since I was a child
I have always sought to understand
everything and everyone…
ever since I was a boy
I have always sensed that there
will always be more to learn about life,
the universe, as well as where
each and everyone of us came from…
ever since I was a child
I have always felt at ease
talking to people about what it is
that they hold dear
more than anything in the world…
ever since I was a boy
I have wondered about how my presence
would affect the way that people perceive me,
think of me, and what they expect of me;
however, as I have grown in more ways than one,
I have become more aware than some
that I have always had a connection
and a relationship with something
beyond my comprehension
but not beyond my ability to harness
in an attempt to share my experience,
my knowledge, my vision, and my instinct
of multiple perspectives and a variety of realities
all existing simultaneously,
like the crystalline components that combine
so perfectly in the form of pearl…
having always been a dreamer,
I have never had any trouble, nor any doubt,
believing that everything means something,
and every day everything and everyone
seeks to attain a certain level of success and contentment
in becoming and being in whatever state
they know feels right to them;
however not everyone gets the chance
to live out their hopes and dreams
and be the beneficiaries
of their aspirations and desires -
but the secret is that everything and everyone
wishes to have instances of inspiration,
creativity, resilience, respect, and rejuvenation
the like of which I have been fortunate
to have experienced as a boy, a young man,
and someone who gets along with
everything and everyone else around me
while also having to remind myself
that so much complexity goes into something
that from the outside looking in
seems so serene and so simple.
My Poem “Like Riding A Bike”
No one ever truly forgets
how to do something -
especially once someone has found
the required level of skill to be able
to repeatedly do the same thing
over and over again without thinking,
and when that happens some acts
become seemingly second nature and effortless…
some knowledge is taught by teachers and mentors,
while some knowledge is almost instinctive
and can feel as if has been acquired
after having been passed down
through some kind of genetic inheritance and memory…
some people take to some things so quickly
that it is immediately apparent that their connection
to something is harder to explain than usual,
because some people seem to have
a prodigy-like gift to be able to grasp
the concept of what something is
with such speed that their abilities
can dumbfound the mind of observers…
some people may take longer than others
to understand the mechanics of how something operates;
because some people are more practically minded,
while others are more theoretical in their approach -
which is why everyone who is seemingly
struggling with something should be encouraged
to never stop trying to make something
make sense to them and in such a way
that only they can see why something
means the way that it does…
some people are just not meant
to be able to do everything,
nor to be able to hear everything,
nor to be able to see everything,
nor to be able to understand everything
that other people might be able to -
and there is nothing wrong with that,
because everyone is different
and not every piece of knowledge
and information about how something is done
can easily be translated, transferred,
replicated, and evolved until it becomes
something innate and as natural as art;
however, when something “feels right”
and just seems so natural when you think about it
and whenever you engage in it,
everything that comes to you
like you have done it before -
even before you tried to do it -
can feel like you are reliving and reenacting
an experience that you could never forget even you tried,
like how people describe that
no one who ever learned something
could ever forget what they know:
because sometimes some things
are just “like riding a bike”.
My Poem “Give Back”
The creation of anything, or anyone,
is not always as simple as it sounds…
art doesn’t spontaneously
emerge from out of nothing…
everything evolves because of experience -
what works, what’s compatible,
what makes it across the line,
what doesn’t work, what falls through the cracks,
for whatever reason;
however, sometimes there is no predicting
why one thing will endure over another…
the reason why something
becomes a trend to follow,
and why something else does not
leave as much of an impression and an impact,
sometimes has nothing to do
with anything other than time…
sometimes some things are not meant to be
appreciated at the time of their release
into the wider world and they are
only recognised for what they are long after
their voice has become an echo -
and sometimes, miraculously, something
can be given a new lease of life
and be rediscovered and rewarded
with what they were always entitled to…
there is more to life than what
could ever be read in a book,
and there is more to life than
anyone could ever know
from being told by someone else -
because life and people are complex,
and things such as a dreams,
or the spark of creativity,
are necessary to making life and people
what they are supposed to be…
in order to be able to make something
that wasn’t there before
you have got to be willing to go to the edge
of your understanding and allow yourself
to be carried away by the ideas
that capture your imagination
and can grow in strength to become
so powerful that they can seem to rival reality
and feel like magic…
every word of every spell and incantation
ever uttered by any storyteller and gatekeeper
is able to open more doors and more opportunities
for more things to come through
and make their presence known;
but in order to get something
sometimes you need to give beforehand,
and then the cycle of reciprocity continues,
over and over again, as life and people
repeatedly receive and then give back.
My Poem “Forty Five”
Time certainly does fly -
one minute you are young and carefree,
and the next you find yourself looking in the mirror
and wondering whose reflection
it is that you now see;
because our time and the events of our life
sometimes feel like something that happened
to someone else, somewhere else -
because what happens to us as we grow
and as we progress through the waves of change
that crash against us have a direct
and a profound impact upon us
in ways that sometimes only become
apparent years afterwards…
time is always temporary -
because every moment is unique
and sometimes only fragments can be found
that harken back to memories of experiences
remain to reflect upon and remind us
of the times of our past that always find a way
to endure in some form or another…
when we are young our birthdays
are the best days of our lives
and we look forward to them for many reasons;
however, as we get older, our birthdays
can feel more like milestones of our life’s journey
and quiet reminders that no matter
what we do we can never
undo what has been done -
and we are reminded to accept what we cannot change
and learn to appreciate who and what
still matters to us and gives meaning to us…
being a wiser man than I was,
and after going through what I have been through,
I am grateful for who I am, for what I am,
and for who and what I have in my life,
and I do not look back and think that I would change
that much from my past -
because I believe that those who were once
by my side are no longer with me for a reason,
and those who remain with me
have always been with me and always will be…
perhaps, one day, I will find myself wondering,
yet again, about who I am and how I came to be
who and what I have become
and I may have had a change of heart
and mind about what happened and why;
however, until then, I am happy to be here,
with whom I share my story with,
as I continue to wax lyrically and loudly
my belief in the power of poetry
and my ability to be a creative, productive,
optimistic and positive individual
and influence to everyone I know
and everyone I meet.
My Poem “The Line”
There are moments when we all stand
upon a line between two extremes -
a terminator between night and day,
a fulcrum of balance between order and chaos -
because there are moments when
we find ourselves removed from our lives,
removed of identity, removed of any knowledge
of who and what we are, who and what we were,
and who and what we are supposed to be;
and then follows the choice:
Which path to follow? Which route to take?
Which power within us to call upon?
Which fate to hear the voice of
and all them to dictate our destiny,
our future, our life going forwards?
And we are asked: what we would be willing
to sacrifice for what we want
and what we say we need above everything else.
It’s not always easy. It’s not always hard.
It’s not always possible to understand
how the choices of a single person
may affect the outcome of countless lives,
until you are already living in the reality you made
and are now looking back upon
how, when, where, and why you chose to do what you did.
Sometimes our choices are taken out of our hands;
sometimes our decisions are made
by others who believe they are meant
to have control over us;
sometimes our fall and our pull
towards the side and the energy
we feel the most seduced to
can feel as if it was always going
to happen and may have already happened,
and so much so that there was never any way
for us to change the course of inevitability.
We are at our most susceptible
to doing something wrong,
that at the time feels right,
when we at our most vulnerable -
and that is when and where questions are asked
and answers come quickly,
and so do actions that we may
one day wish to take back;
however, some things and some people
inevitably can never revert, nor return,
to how they once were
and we have to hone up to
the new state of affairs we may be
in some way responsible for.
Because each and every one of us -
from the bad to the good,
from the saint to the sinner,
from the faithful to the traitor -
have to go through so much throughout our lives
and each and every one of us at some point in time
must be reminded of the importance of sometimes
having to traverse what feels like a high wire
and proceed undeterred while walking
and finding ourselves veering one way or another
from the line of life that we have lived
before we found ourselves considering
the possibilities, the opportunities,
the consequences, and the rewards
of either staying upon the path of what we know
or embracing the allure of the unexpected
and putting your trust in the hope of the unknown.
Each and every one of us,
every day of our lives,
must be brave and resolute
every step of the way
that we take upon “the line”.
Mark The Poet 