Present
My Poem “A Matter of Time”
I have always revisted the past... I have always lived in the present... I have always looked forward to the future - and there are times when I experience the past, the present, and the future collide: as if something momentous has happened, something revelatory, something that reminds me, yet again, that life is, essentially, multidimensional verses of poetry, and I get to see and understand things that I could not and would not have been able to at any other time - because I was not ready. I remember so much... moments mean more to me than most... I keep touchstones of experiences that enable me to travel through time that can happen as slow and as subtle as a raindrop falling from above, or as fast and as forceful as a gust... I can still recall how people looked, how places were, what was said, what song was playing on the radio - in some cases more than others, over the timeline of my life - and when some moments, in particular, do resurface and come back into focus, it almost feels as if everything that has happened and will happen is all happening all at once. In some ways, sometimes, we all must change... in some ways, sometimes, we all must break the mould that we have been cast in... in some ways, sometimes, we all must act and not necessarily know what the next steps to take will be... in some ways, sometimes, it is better to not think too much about what has yet to happen - and sometimes it is good to have a goal in front of you to focus on. We are all pilots, as well as passengers, travelling through the vortex of time hoping that one day we will eventually land and find ourselves somewhere that will give us what we have been searching for, without even knowing it... we are all capable of extraordinary things and each of us can do something that uniquely defines us - and yet, one thing that life teaches all of us is that the moment that you think you know it all or have seen it all you will discover that you don't, you haven't, you won't, and you can't; and why? Because sometimes we are not meant to know everything - only what we need to know, but not always what we want to know; because everything is a matter of time.
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Red – “Hermes”
A Poem A Day #521: Then/Now
My Poem “More than we might know”
Christmas Day is but once a year,
however the way that some people
make us feel every day
is enough to make us what to cry
tears of love and joy
because we know how lucky we are to
have them close and near.
Christmas time is when people tend
to think about others more than usual,
and Christmas time is also
when people often also
tend to reflect back upon
everything that life has tested them with,
especially as we all grow older
and we remember things in the past
that we may have accidentally taken for granted.
Everybody is this life needs somebody
to hear them, to think about them,
to give them the gift of their time –
even is it is only in the form of
a greetings card that tells someone
that you were thinking about them,
because no one who has done so much
good for other people ever deserves
to be forgotten or left behind.
Time is precious…
people are vulnerable…
there are people in this world
who have lost everything
because of a natural disaster,
because of homelessness,
because life has not been kind to them –
and this time of the year is when
a large population of the world
considers what means the most to them,
and the greatest gift
that we can all give one another –
as members of the collective
human family of this planet –
is respect, peace, and an opportunity
for everybody to find happiness
while doing something
that gives their life meaning.
We can all be better people sometimes…
we can all be better at communicating
our feelings – however, there are times
when talking is the hardest thing to do,
especially when you feel like nobody
could ever understand
what you are going through…
we can all be better listeners –
however, the ability to fully listen
and to hear what someone is trying
to tell you is harder than you think.
We can all be there for somebody
in particular when they need
the gift of someone to be there for them,
to make time for them,
to embody the spirit of the season,
and to get them through the sometimes
harsh Winter of the Northern Hemisphere
and the sometimes uncomfortable Summer
of the Southern Hemisphere –
because no one is immune to life,
because everybody is human,
and it is important that we all
remember, as often as possible,
who we are, what we are,
how short our time to shine is,
and that it takes almost no effort at all
to be present in the life
of somebody who may needs us
more than we might know.
My Poem “Game Changer”
Everything comes back around.
The past becomes the present,
the present becomes the future,
the future slowly unveils itself
before you – and, quite frequently,
you come to realize that you,
and time, are going, and can only go,
in one direction: forwards.
Every memory within your mind
was made for a reason, for a purpose,
as a reminder, as a way for you
to retrace your steps when you feel lost
and as if you have forgotten parts
of the road of life that you have traveled down.
Beginnings are always tricky, uncertain, testing,
and they are both a place and a time upon which
much needed patience is required to ensure
that whatever you are building and making
will standing the tests of time, gravity,
and everything that is thrown at it as it grows.
Everything and everyone goes on a journey
throughout their life that is unexpected,
and the only thing that you can be sure about
is that nobody can ever know
what is going to happen next
unless they make the choice to find out.
Endings are hard, endings are complicated,
endings are generally a maelstrom of emotions
and feelings that are expelled,
that sometimes do not make any sense –
but when you stop and you break down
each and every emotion, feeling,
and instinct that entangles you,
you realize that everything that you have done,
everything that you have built,
everything that you have made,
everything that you have invested into,
and everything that you watched be destroyed,
are the constituting atoms and molecules
that made something what it was.
There are times in life when we are all learners…
there are times in life when we are all teachers…
there are times in life when we are all fighters…
there are times in life when we are all believers…
there are times in life when we are all influencers
of people, actions, choices, decisions, fates –
and when we realize that our actions have consequences
and that what we do will ultimately impact the life
of another person, another thing,
then each and every one of us
can come to discover that we are all
in fact game-changers and vital participants
in the universes ever-evolving plan.
My Poem “The True Meaning”
The true meaning of Christmas
isn’t about presents –
the true meaning of Christmas
is about the bond shared
between family and friends
and the love that binds
children and their parents…
The true meaning of Christmas
isn’t about money,
nor about what other people have –
the true meaning of Christmas
is about rising above the trivial
and looking around at your life
and being grateful for the truest
and the purest gift of all: the gift of love…
The true meaning of Christmas
isn’t about where you are –
the true meaning of Christmas
is about who you are with
and what certain people mean to you…
When I think about what Christmas means to me
I look no further for the answer
than to my family, to my fiance, to my friends –
those who give me so much every day
without asking anything in return
and who to me embody the true meaning of Christmas.
My Poem “Lotus”
The more that we ask ourselves
what we believe
the more that we learn
about ourselves
and about who or what our god
is and represents…
The more that we ask others
what they believe
and what and who sustains them
and gives meaning to their life
the more that we realise
who and what is important to us…
The more that we ask questions
about life, about existence, about creation,
about where we are going and why
the more that we appreciate what we have,
what makes us happy, what gives us hope,
what to us is a daily cherished present…
The more that we open our mind and our heart
to the possibilities that we had not considered before
the closer that we will be to attaining
a revitalised spirit and a purpose
that will allow us to rise above
all our troubles and float
in a state of complete and beautiful contentment
like a delicate white lotus.
My Poem ‘The True Gift’
The true gift of Christmas,
the best present you could
ever receive or give;
the truth of the season
you can always trust,
the spirit that you can
walk a thousand miles with;
the touch to heal all scarred hearts,
the light that shines like the North Star;
the beautiful angel who shows you
the true meaning of life
that so many have for years
been in search of;
the true goodwill of somebody
that everybody at one point or another
has been touched by.
Christmas is, and should always be,
a celebration of shared ties
and meaningful connections;
Christmas can only be Christmas
if you give without any expectation
of anything in return;
Christmas is always full of passion,
and if you are fortunate
then whatever thoughts that you think
may return to you in more amazing and wonderful ways
than could ever be mentioned;
to open your heart for another, whenever you can,
is the true message that resonates
every moment of the season.
Christmas trees; shiny ornaments;
one of a kind shared and special moments;
the miracle of rejuvenation and joy
that constantly brings to life
a story that will always exist;
the motto on the family-crest of St. Nicholas;
the true meaning of life
that is more than a myth;
giving, sharing, remembering,
meeting, living and breathing,
every thing about everything
is how you know in more ways than one
the true gift of Christmas.
My Poem ‘The White Rabbit’
I sometimes feel like
I am akin to the white rabbit of Wonderland;
I almost always find myself late,
because even in my mind
I am always rushing off to somewhere;
I sometimes feel like I am in an hour-glass
being slowly rained on by a constant dusting
of falling grains of sand;
I sometimes struggle to know
when to go and when to stop and wait;
as I watch time tick by,
like the hands of a clock,
I am very rarely seen standing still –
when I am writing,
when I am talking,
when I am thinking,
are the most likely of times
that you will ever see me motionless,
and even then, my muscles are on the move –
in some way, shape, or form –
and, to be honest, for me to be in any way
like a statue I would have to be ill.
Some things do take time
to fully come to fruition;
some things can happen
and must only happen in the moment;
some things that are what they are
are driven by emotion;
some things are so important to us
their effect on us is incredibly potent.
I have learned over time
that you have to follow your heart;
I have always looked for the rabbit hole
to the unknown, and ran down it at full-speed
without any thought of stopping myself, or looking back;
I have always been enamored by every sentence
that I have read that has ever ended
with a question mark;
I have always considered every opportunity
as if it were a doorway to somewhere
that is so full of inspiration and wonder
it would and will always be impossible
to ever pin-point the location
of everything there on any kind of map.
I have always believed
that there is no such thing as coincidence;
I have proof that every thing
and every person comes into your life
and is a part of your life for a reason;
I have vowed to myself to never stop
doing what I do, and to will keep going –
to keep walking through every open door,
and to keep jumping over every fence;
I have watched people leave others behind
when they feel like they have to
if they want to have the thing that they most desire –
I, however, do not give up on people
or on anything that matters to me lightly,
and if I could I would be there
when and where I am wanted and needed
for those who need me
through all the colours and shades of every season.
Anything can last forever,
if you don’t give up on it
and if you don’t forget it;
while you are looking around
and taking in life and your surroundings,
try to see the signs that you should follow,
if you want to experience
your eyes being opened wide
by a thought as amazing
and as dazzling as a bright light;
the things that may happen to you
if you choose to sometimes not worry
about all the things that could happen,
and if you learn to grasp the secret of everything:
that everything happens all at once,
and that the past, the present,
and the future are all one and the same –
and, if and when you do, that is when life
will feel even more beautiful and epic…
so, make sure you look around from time to time –
so that you may see, and perhaps choose to follow,
you own personal, life-defining and enlightening,
white rabbit.
Mark The Poet 