A video of me reciting my poem “The Explorer”, from my poetry collection ‘The Storyteller’, on a special hill to me, in my home village.
poem
A Journey Through Poetry #8: Dear Dad
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 ‘Dear Dad’, from his poetry collection The Pathfinder, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #7: World’s Best Dad
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 ‘World’s Best Dad’, from his poetry collection The Comeback Kid, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #6: Blessed
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 ‘Blessed’, from his poetry collection Poet of the Multiverse, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #5: Every Day’s Eye
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 ‘Every Day’s Eye’, 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.
A Journey Through Poetry #4: Tenacious Me
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 ‘Tenacious Me’, from his poetry collection The Dreamer and The Dream, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #3: Immortalize
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 ‘Immortalize’, from his poetry collection The Eternal Boy, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #2: Sound
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 ‘Sound’, from his poetry collection The Sound of Mark, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #1: The Poet
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 ‘The Poet’, from his poetry collection Poet of the Sphere, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
My Poem “Small talk/Big talk”
Making a connection with someone
is not something that should be taken for granted…
being able to talk to someone about something
that you know matters to them is important
in more ways than can be expressed…
talking with people whom you don’t know,
as well as with people whom you may
never have thought you would ever talk to,
is the first of many steps that allow
all of us to reach a conclusion
and a consensus about who we all are…
the more that we choose to see beyond
the differences that lie between so many of us -
differences of culture, belief, religion,
fashion, music, entertainment, and ritual -
we can begin to see, hear, and understand
that no matter how many things some of us do
and express differently there is always a mutual
hope to be understood and accepted for who we are…
it has been proven time and time again
that sometimes the simplest
and the most innocent of conversations
can have the most impact upon someone,
and can also affect and influence
the outcome of the future -
from something as trivial as asking someone for the time,
or something so simple as asking someone
how they are and how they are feeling -
can be like giving someone a much needed
opening to say something that they
may have been holding back,
which had been growing out of control within them…
it has been witnessed repeatedly by countless people
the power that words can have on people -
words that cannot be unsaid,
and which say more than what they might
at first seem to be about:
an interconnected network of language
that can communicate with others
something that can help them find something
which they are passionate about finding,
which they look forward to seeing, hearing,
and witnessing in the art that people create,
and especially in the music of their own lives
captured within the verse of a song…
there is a reason why it is easier to say some things
to some people than it is to say all things to everyone,
because some things first require the firm foundation
of a long term relationship between individuals
that can allow for the weight of what may be said
to be understood on a level playing ground
and with the stability to be able to sustain itself
even if the atmosphere of the forum
becomes as tumultuous as the waves of an ocean,
or as unpredictable and as unsettling
as the shaking ground of an earthquake…
one word; one sound; one breath of air from someone’s lungs;
one look in the eye; one instance of selflessness;
one moment of silence, self-reflection,
and self-awareness can be the catalyst
that can cause a change in the lives of many others
far away and beyond your apparent sphere of influence -
because every action is a response
to infinite number that came before it;
because if this day and age has anything
to teach each and every one of us
it would have to be that things grow over time,
and where there is a spark there will always be
the fuel for a fire that could spread
farther and faster than could be expected or predicted,
and even the most tentative of “small” talk
could potentially be the beginning of something “big”.
