It has always fascinated me
how no matter what century it is
the various ages of culture
ultimately give rise to subcultures
of people who all walk to
the same beat of the same drum...
it has always been a source of inspiration
for me how on some level
everybody is always looking for a group
of like-minded individuals
who talk the same way,
who dress the same way,
and who feel the same way about things,
about the world, about how they have
for so long been misunderstood -
and what brings them the most joy
in the world most likely does not
fit into the same mould of what is
considered to be mainstream or "normal".
It has always interested me
how easily people feel as if they
can be themselves when they are
given the opportunity to visit a place
which is sacred to them and safe for them
to indulge themselves in the conventions
of the subculture that they are
a practicing member of,
that are so iconic and expected
they have over time become a stereotype...
it has always given me a sense of acceptance
every time I have looked around the world
and without even having to try
I have been able to recognize
the unmistakable signs that point towards
someone who I might not know,
and who does not know me,
but who I may share similar sensibilities with,
who do not spend any effort or time
in disguising the fact that when it comes
to the road of life they are constantly
walking a thin line.
It is has always been a way of life
for the young of a society
to rebel against the rules of their parents
and thumb their nose at authority figures
so as to test the limits of what they can do,
in order to make their voice be heard;
however, sometimes when a certain
group of people feel as if they are being
unduly silenced then speech can slowly
transform into acts of delinquency,
disrespect, and disorder.
It will always be the case
that some people will want to believe
certain individual beliefs...
some people will always want
to live a certain way of life...
some people will always want
to act upon their instincts
and express what is meaningful to them -
because some things, to some people,
feel so indelible they are indistinguishable
from their nature...
it goes without saying that normality
is a matter of opinion and perspective -
and where some may look at a group
of people and consider them to
have nothing constructive to offer
others might look at those same people
in the same way that they would look
at a family member,
because to them they are an example
of how an idea can grow and endure
under the radar as a subculture.
perspective
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 “Equinox”
Life feels like we have truly arrived
at a moment between light and dark…
life feels like we are transitioning
between two states of being…
after all that has happened this year,
after we have all sacrificed
and after how far we have all come,
life feels as if it is in a state of resistance –
because humanity feels like it is
stuck in a game of tug of war with itself
and with a nemesis they cannot see clearly.
Life in some shapes and places is continuing
regardless of everything else –
as they always have done –
while some individuals fear that
they have reached a point of no return
and everything that happens next
with be irrevocable, and the pain
that will be felt will cut deep.
Life on planet Earth has been shook
profoundly by what has occurred this year…
life will never again be the same as it was…
life is subjective and based upon
the personal perspective of an individual
at a specific here and a specific now.
Life has been though dark times before;
however, after every era of profound change,
nature teaches all things that they need
to find a way to adapt to the circumstances
and the surroundings that they find
themselves in and to do their best
to find a balance that they may have lost –
and there is no better time to be
a shining example of phenomenal
strength and fortitude than right now,
at this moment of equinox.
My Poem “Eternity’s Ultimate Goal”
The world of life is filled with colour…
the underworld is black and white…
the world around us is like no other…
the world to come is devoid of time,
perspective, reason, and drive…
the world of the now is where
and when we accomplish what
we are meant to do…
the world behind the invisible curtain
is where we reflect on what was
and what could have been…
the world of the present is
where, when, and how the universe renews…
the world beyond this one that is so
unfathomable from the reality of the tangible
because what people encounter
when they pass over is so ethereal
that what and who we interact with
would be similar to that of a dream…
the world that people see, hear, feel
touch and think about every day
is constantly evolving…
the world far beyond the clouds
is the next phase of the soul…
the world in which the living live in
is a journey with a definitive ending…
I believe that the world of the infinite
that awaits everybody is where people go
to find all the missing pieces from
their life that they lost in order to
fully understand what is the true
and pure answer that explains
the meaning of all life
and eternity’s ultimate goal.
My Poem “Locutus”
Every collective and assembly
of individuals who seek to speak
with one voice when dealing with others
often elects one member of their society
to be the spokesperson for them
in matters of peace, diplomacy,
and the continued prosperity
of their shared consciousness,
while at the same time attempting
to announce, to advertise,
and to further their own interests
and to bolster the idea of the betterment
of those who are connected and interlinked
with every other person who makes up
the hive of knowledge, energy,
and the gift of adaptability
that their culture is built upon.
Figureheads, presidents, prime ministers,
kings, queens, ambassadors have been
sent on missions of state for centuries
in order to explore the prospect
and the possibility of assimilating
a new investment of riches in the form of
people, experience, and examples
of distinctive innovations
that surpass that which is already known,
and it is the act of seeking out
and trying to understand
what is presently a mystery
that has driven the course of the history
of all the empires and also the democracies
that have risen, those that have flourished,
and those that have survived
where others have fallen
because the victorious
chose to change some things
while continuing to stay true to their
underlying pursuit of a vision
and of a state of perfection for their nation.
Sometimes an individual’s voice
and their face can get lost in a crowd
of people who all have their own
personal perspective on what
the reason is for why things
should be the way that they are –
and when that happens
some people naturally seek out
a representative
to speak on their behalf,
and just as long as the person
who is naturally chosen
because they somehow embody
what needs to be conveyed
stays true to the message
and the ethics of who they are
supposed to be representing,
then unless their advancements
lead to conflict there should be no reason
why no one who is anyone
would not listen to a “Locutus” –
in other words, someone who is literally:
“the one who speaks”.
Resistance is not futile
My Poem “Story of a writer’s life”
Whenever you ask a writer
what the hardest thing to do
when writing anything is
they will most likely tell you
that the same thing that is
the hardest thing to do is also
one of the most essential,
one of the most fundamental,
one of the most amazing
and one of the most fulfilling
things that a writer can do:
to finish things, to end things,
to conclude things, to write a definitive
and effective last verse that defines,
underlines, and gives a new insight into
what the meaning of a work
of literature might be,
why its underlying message
might be enlightening,
and also the reason why an author
chose to explore a particular story
or subject matter in the first place.
It is always good to restart a story
the minute after you have just read
a particular book. Why?
Because no matter how much you think
you know about the story
that you have just read
there is always more to be found
within the lines of text,
especially with a god-like insight into
what is going to happen before
the characters do,
because by restarting the story again
you are turning back the clock
and resetting an entire world
of characters whom you know more about
than they know about themselves –
which gives everything
a fresh new perspective.
Stories and storytellers
are to what, and they are to whom,
everybody turns to when they want to be
entertained, enchanted, educated,
and illuminated about something
or someone that has a tale to be told
about the what, the when, the why,
and how so much of life
revolves around and is built upon
stories told by storytellers
who might have spent countless hours
retelling, building, understanding,
and trying to capture
a sometimes indefinable magic
that they once found themselves
inspired by and compelled to grasp
the ball of entangled threads
that combine to create every single
word, of every single line,
of every story, of every writer,
of every creator since
the beginning to time.
My Poem “Peace of Mind”
When we go so far outwardly
I find that it is sometimes necessary
to turn inwardly, to regress –
if only momentarily –
essentially to regain some perspective,
to connect all the dots that lead
from where we were and who we were
to where we find ourselves
at a given moment in time,
in order to appreciate everything
that we have and to realize why
what we left in the past
we needed to leave behind
for the prosperity of our future
as well as our present peace of mind.
My Poem “Starry Sky”
This is my poem “Starry Sky” – a modified version of the first verse of my poem “Blue Sky” that I wrote back in 2010 – which I rewrote slightly and composited with a little doodle that I did of an astronaut floating in space with the thought that perhaps my poem might one day be what an astronaut might say to when they find themselves floating in space and looking down at the beautiful blue and green marvel that is the planet Earth. 👨🚀👩🚀🌍
My Poem “360”
It is only when you step out
of your reality –
even if it is only for a short time –
that you discover what the other
sides of life really look like…
it is only when you step inside
the shoes, inside the world,
and inside the perspective
of somebody living in a place
and in a way that may be
far removed from the one
that you know so well
that you learn just how much
of life is not black and white –
because, in reality, life is
all colours and hues
from every extreme of the spectrum
all emanating and infusing
the universe with all its depth
all at once.
At different times of the day
life can feel like a dance…
sometimes life can feel
being at a rock concert…
sometimes life can be like
being at the theatre or at a cinema
watching a play or a movie…
life can sometimes be like
looking into a mirror…
life can sometimes feel like
you have been in a car-crash…
life can sometimes be like
being a passenger on a rocket-ship
bound for somewhere where
the gravity that you have
been used to all your life
no longer exists and you have
to learn to think, to move,
to propel, to motivate yourself,
to be someone and something else
beyond who and what you have always known.
The world turns fast,
but sometimes changes are slow to occur…
unfortunately far too few things
are meant to last,
but the precious gift of life
is to be able to explore
so many of the wonders of this world
that we call Earth.
Nature is always redefining itself…
nature is constantly being influenced
by humanity at the same time
that humanity is being influenced
and inspired by nature –
and every time someone goes somewhere
that they have never been before,
and they turn around to see
what is all around them in 360-degrees,
everybody has to take a pause
so that they can breathe in and breathe out
the dream come true of being free.
markthepoet.me 