Even from a young age,
everybody finds a way
to communicate with others
what they want and what they need...
from children to adults,
everybody has their own particular way
to indicate what colours they use
to paint the world of their dreams...
growing up, everybody discovers
that they have strengths that help them
interact with the world -
but now, more than ever,
people have gotten used to
interacting with others anonymously,
and they can easily transition
from who they are, what they say,
and how they are perceived in real life,
to who they want to be,
what they want to say,
and how they want to be seen virtually.
Talking and communicating with others
is an art that does not come
as naturally to some
than it does for others...
it is always miraculous
to witness a child watch, listen, learn,
and then, over time, repeat,
and even mimic, what they have heard
and what they have seen -
and the more people
that they spend time around,
and the more time that they spend
speaking and acting without thinking,
then you get to see
who they are slowly becoming,
what they like to spend their time doing,
and perhaps what aspects
of their young personality
will become more defined
as they get older.
Not everyone grows up
having people around them
who see and immediately recognise
that they are special and gifted...
some children have parents
who immediately want to mould them
into becoming another version of them -
instead of letting their child
find their own feet, find their own language,
and find out who they are supposed to be -
which is why some children defy
the wishes of their elders
and gravitate towards those
who also share the same instinct
to insight chaos instead of maintaining order.
Everybody makes mistakes
throughout their lives,
and everybody sometimes
says the wrong thing -
even though it seemed like
the right thing to say at a particular time;
but who would any of us be
if we did not have an opportunity
to readjust ourselves after
becoming sidetracked by something
that we formed a strong relationship with.
Some people seem to have such
an innate and natural ability
to be able to do something
that it can almost seem as if
they were always meant to be
who they have grown to become;
however, each of us -
no matter how old we are -
daily have to realign ourselves
to the direction that we know
we must travel towards,
but sometimes all that people need
to guide them is an internal compass
that allows them to always find
where there "True North" lies
so that they can have something to anchor them,
while they are able to seek out
the sometimes diverse realities
that are able to exist within the same world,
as well as finding joy in the act
of walking out upon a stage
that many others have done so before
and find something
that was left for them as a gift
of the great communicator.
Poetry
My Poem “The Pathfinder”
When we all start down
upon a new path
no one can know exactly
where it will lead
nor who they will meet
along the way...
when we all begin again
in our attempt to find where
we are meant to be and with whom
no one can know how much
of who they are will remain
nor what about them
will ultimately change.
I have been walking down
a path of poetry for as long
as I can remember...
I have been running
through a forest of imagination
since I was a child...
I have been listening
to the sounds of nature
for as long as I have
been able to hear...
I have been seeing
the infinite possibilities
of life and the universe
since my mind was opened wide
after asking questions
and being given answers
that brought to life my love
of the mysterious of the unknown
that, to this day, still continue
to energize my thoughts
like the waves of light and colour
that can be seen while witnessing
the Northern Lights.
Once I have been somewhere,
I never forget where I have been
nor what I have seen...
once I have been somewhere,
I never forget how to return there -
because I have always had this innate gift
to be able to create a map
of places within my mind...
once I have been somewhere -
even a place that I may not
visit again for days, weeks, months,
even years afterwards -
I have always been able to
accurately navigate myself
back to where I was
with more clarity of memory
than if I were to attempt
to recall a dream...
once I have been somewhere,
I always create a connection to somewhere
that I can use, whenever I need,
to guide me back, as if I could
literally, and effortlessly, step back in time.
I have always been a dreamer...
I have always been hopeful
that the future will be something
that is always worth living for...
I have always loved my family,
and I have always loved
being inspired by people,
and by extraordinary experiences
that I have shared with significant others...
I have always looked forwards,
and I have always looked backwards -
because the future and the past
are always communicating with
one another,
and it has always been at the intersection
between these two extremes
where I have always found
the words to describe
what I feel with every fibre of my being
at a given moment
of pure poetic power...
I have always wanted to give back
more than I have received -
and throughout my life's journey
I have given a part of myself
to those whom I have met,
whom I have known,
whom I have inspired,
who have inspired me in return,
whether they know it or not -
because, all my life, I have been,
and I always shall be,
someone who is meant to
shine a light for those to follow,
like a lighthouse keeper,
a messenger, a traveller,
a navigator, a pathfinder.
My Poem “Walking On Air”
When you fall in love with someone,
you become weak,
you become vulnerable,
you become different...
when you fall in love with someone,
you lose your identity -
because another is rising
to take its place...
when you fall in love with someone,
sometimes you get the feeling
that you once shared something
a long time ago -
perhaps in a previous life,
as seen through a filtered lens...
when you fall in love with someone,
everything around you feels blurred
in comparison to who now occupies
what you see and who you think about
all hours of the day...
when you fall in love with someone,
you instantly believe
that nothing and no one
could ever compare to them...
when you fall in love with someone,
you can't wait to spend every moment
in their presence and be hypnotised
by their entrancing glare...
when you fall in love with someone,
it almost feels as if this time
is the first time all over again...
when you fall in love with someone,
gravity itself does not feel as strong,
nor as important as it should -
because the force, the energy,
the power of love that songs
and poetry have been full of
since the first poets found a way
to capture the transformative
journey into the unknown
that our soul takes
when we all experience
the recurring sensation
of getting closer to the stars of the sky
than to the ground below our feet,
because we feel as if we are levitating
and walking on air.
My Poem “From One to Another”
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.
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.
