It is always great to be able
to share what you know
about something that
you have learned a lot about
with friends, with family,
and with people who share
the same interests as you -
but whenever you meet someone who,
from the moment that you meet them,
seems to be talking the same language
that, for so long, you were led to believe
that only you could communicate in
and understand,
then there is always
a wave of energy
that touches you...
no matter how well and how long
someone may have known you,
it is only those who have
walked the same path as you,
it is only those who have had
similar experiences as you,
it is only those who have been born
with a similar gift as you -
whatever that may be -
who can truly understand you,
and why and how you do what you do.
When you are with someone
who, like you, can see order
where others only see chaos...
when you are with someone
who, like you, enjoys looking within
while others only look outwards...
when you are with someone
who, like you, has a reason for
why they invest so much of their time
connected to something that matters to them,
every interaction can feel so effortless -
while, when you are with others
who do not share the same
passion about something,
it can be hard to put into words
to someone who does not
speak the same way as you do,
who does feel the same way
about things as you do,
who does not wish for
the same things as you do,
why, when we find ourselves
somewhere in particular,
everything feels so natural.
There is a reason why like-minded
people attend conferences
and conventions that revolve around
a common endeavour or pastime...
there is a reason why some stereotypes are true
and why certain characteristics
about certain types of people do recur...
there is a reason why certain people -
from magicians to comedians,
from actors to writers,
from garderners to aficionados
who enjoy doing many different
individual and collaborative activities -
gather together and meet
without the feeling of guilt
that can stir within you sometimes
when you reveal to someone
something that you take pleasure in doing,
as if you have committed a crime...
there is a reason why
we all secretly seek out others
who we know will immediately understand
something fundamental about us
from the instant that our paths cross -
because nothing feels more refreshing
than conversing with someone when,
whatever you say to each other,
every word uttered
feels like the steps of a sprint
that rapidly transitions
from one to another.
Poetry
My Poem “Pilgrimage”
We all know what it is like
to have the image of a person,
a place, or something in particular,
within our mind, that gifts us,
every time we think of them,
with a surge of energy,
enthusiasm, and power...
we all know what it is like
to be drawn to someone,
to somewhere, to something,
as if we were being pulled
towards them by a force like that of gravity,
to which we can believe
we are destined to go
so that something inside us
can be unlocked by using
them as if they were a key...
we all know the feeling of anticipation
that rises within us
when we start to get this instinct
that the time when we will one day
fulfil the promise of serendipity,
and make a dream come true,
and the voice of that which calls us
towards them, gets steadily louder...
we all know what it feels like
to be on a journey somewhere –
both familiar and unfamiliar –
and what it means to us
to return to somewhere special,
as well as to see something,
somewhere, that for so long
has seemed out of reach...
we all know what it takes
to do something that
we have never done before –
and sometimes we have to,
somehow, change how we think
about something in order
to be able to fully integrate
and interact with where we
find ourselves and with whom
we find ourselves with...
we all know what it is like to have
heroes whom we look up to
and whom we seek out for guidance
about what we should do
and perhaps where we should go next –
because every day everybody
is on a journey towards
something that will always
continue to be both tangible,
and yet far away –
because even when we finally
make it somewhere we have always wanted to go,
or after we finally meet someone
who we have always wanted to meet,
what matters is what happens afterwards
and as a result of the steps
that we all have to take
on our own individual and personal,
life-long and meaningful,
pilgrimages.
My Poem “Let there be Poetry”
In the beginning,
there was something -
there always is;
however, then something else happened:
an explosion of energy and light,
and, in an instant, poetry
came into existence and continued
to create and reinvent itself,
over and over again,
until it eventually evolved into
life, sounds, images,
music, words, language,
vast connections that span
the multiverse of universes
and realities that currently exist,
and beyond -
and there is no sign
of it stopping any time soon.
Poetry has always been there…
poetry is always there in every moment,
and poetry will always be there
waiting to be seen, recorded,
recounted, and shared...
poetry is not just words -
poetry is like a fire
that burns without end...
poetry lies within the heart
of every person on Earth...
poetry has been there
within the dreams of everyone
who has ever lived
since the moment of their birth.
Since I first discovered poetry,
since I wrote my first poem,
since I first discovered that
becoming a poet and writing
my own poetry was my destiny,
since I started and I couldn't stop myself
from being inspired by everything and everybody,
I have been seeing the world
through the prism of infinite possibilities...
since I first started sharing
what I saw, what I heard,
what I felt, what means the most to me -
when I was gifted that first moment
of poetic serenity and clarity -
I have believed in the concept of causality,
I have believed that
everything happens for a reason
because it has to,
because it is meant to,
and when it comes to finding an explanation
as to why things happen in life
I have always believed in the old saying,
"What will be... will be" -
which is why I have always believed
there is always an answer for everything,
and that even in the darkest of times,
or during the brightest of days,
things have a way of showing us
just how much of life
is beyond our control and full of surprises,
but life also has an innate design to it
that is meant to repeat;
so, just as a long time ago
a phrase was uttered
that made the first light shine
across the cosmos, I say:
"let there be poetry",
so that people everywhere
may know what it means
to be free to be
who they are supposed to be
My Poem “Kindred Spirits”
When you know you have
found a kindred spirit -
someone who likes
the same things as you,
someone who speaks
the same language as you,
someone who knows
a part of you that no others do,
nor could ever understand -
the recognition is almost instant...
when you meet someone
and from the moment that you
share something about yourself with them -
that perhaps defines the most
important part of what makes you -
you know that what you say
will mean more to them
than it might to someone
whose interests are more
divergent from yours...
when you have a shared experience
with people whom you may have only known
for a relatively short amount of time -
but who you feel already have an instinct
about something that will always
remain a fundamental principle
that keeps alive the spark of hope within you -
then you will naturally gravitate back to them
time and time again -
because each and every one of us
never stop looking for something
or for someone who gets
why we are the way that we are
and why we do what we do...
when you can communicate
an entire universe of stories,
characters, adventure,
and the universal phenomenon
that something has become,
with a simple, yet infinitely powerful,
phrase, a gesture, a look
that can encapsulate and symbolize
why it is as special as people believe it to be,
then you know that what you
and many others have in common
is worth every second
that you have put into it...
when you find joy in the art
of becoming someone else -
just like an actor who transitions
and transforms themselves into a character -
you know that what comes with
that overwhelming feeling of happiness
is a tangible connection
with others that makes you feel seen
and not judged in any way,
and that experience can mean
so much to so many people
more that they could say...
when you come to believe
that there is no limit
to what you can achieve
as long as you hold on
to what empowers you
like an enduring gift -
and then you recognize
the same look in the eye
of others who also know
that they have a responsibility
to do something with that which
continuously gives them
the same enlightened lift -
that is when you know
you have found a fellow
kindred spirit.
markthepoet.me 