A Poem A Day #491: Rhyme and Reason

“Rhyme and Reason” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘Poet of the Multiverse’ which was published in 2022 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw
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My Poem “Rhyme & Reason”

The purpose of life is to live…
the meaning of life is to enjoy
the time that you have alongside
whomever you share your journey with…
the purpose of a sunset and a sunrise
is so that we may all realise
that there are things in this life that we
have no control over, which are bigger than ourselves,
from which we can all benefit…
the purpose of our imagination
is to enable us to understand the world
around us by using the power of our
own internal storytelling potential
to conjure and to decipher the characters,
the details, the plot, and the intentions
of those who give our world meaning –
just like the heroes whose tales fill
the texts of the worlds most ancient myths
and once provided its contemporary audiences
an opera of other-worldly thrills.

The original purpose of something
can be lost over time after it’s creator
has passed on and when the knowledge
of a once every day technology is
replaced by another…
the meaning behind why an expedition
was originally undertaken is sometimes lost
when adventurers and explorers
reach the end of the world
and they are unable to accurately
share what they saw when they walked
through the revolving door of mortality…
the origin of a word always remains the same,
however the meaning of a particular word
after every time it is translated
can over time lead to incomprehensibility…
no one alive today was there to take
a self-portrait of themselves
when the original flash of light
that began the universe took place –
which is why when it comes to questions
of how, when, why, and for what reason
we are all here all comes down to faith,
to interpretation, to preference,
to knowledge, to feeling,
and to the rhyme and the reason of
some incomprehensible poetry.

The original purpose of something
can be lost over time after it’s creator
has passed on and when the knowledge
of a once every day technology is
replaced by another…
the meaning behind why an expedition
was originally undertaken is sometimes lost
when adventurers and explorers
reach the end of the world
and they are unable to accurately
share what they saw when they walked
through the revolving door of mortality…
the origin of a word always remains the same,
however the meaning of a particular word after every time it is translated
can over time lead to incomprehensibility…
no one alive today was there to take
a self-portrait of themselves
when the original flash of light
that began the universe took place –
which is why when it comes to questions of how, when, why, and for what reason
we are all here all comes down to faith,
to interpretation, to preference,
to knowledge, to feeling,
and to the rhyme and the reason of
some incomprehensible poetry.

My Poem “Verbatim”

There is a story behind everything…
there is a reason for everything…
there is a story to be told about everybody…
there is truth to be found
about the human condition
by listening to everybody.

Everybody is capable of being
a storyteller with a varied
and a different perspective
on everything, because
everybody experiences the world uniquely –
which is why no voice
should be ever silenced or muted
because their opinions
do not run in parallel
with that of the status quo…
everybody is capable
of expressing themselves somehow –
even if it is with the power of a stare
or a passive but noticeable gesture
that is a part of the universal
art of getting your point across
and making your intentions known.

Stories are wonderful things –
however, stories have a way
of taking on a life of their own…
some stories can start out
being about something
small and insignificant –
however, when stories are internalized
and personalized then can be reshaped
and retold in many different ways…
stories can be given names –
especially those that were inspired
by real life events and circumstances…
stories always have characters in them –
and on occasion storytellers
often exaggerate the qualities
and the attributes of a particular
character in order to make the story
that they are telling more dramatic…
some stories are referred to as
“Chinese whispers”, because they grow,
because they change, because depending
on how many times they have been told,
heard, retold, and shared –
though the seed at the centre
of the same story remains the same –
little by little, with every passing
iteration and narration,
a story can lose some of it’s most
fundamental facts,
and the devil that is in the details
of a story can become a shadow
of what was initially intended
to be a story told word for word.

My Poem “Full Circle”

When you first start out
at doing something
you do not know just how
transformative what you
have chosen to do will be…
when you first start out
at doing anything
you are usually merely
dipping your toe into the ocean
of whatever new frontier
you are choosing explore…
when you first start out
looking for a reason
and an opportunity
to further develop
your new found pursuit
you usually try to practice
your art at every hour
of the day and the night
until whatever melody and rhythm
that you are attempting to play
with whatever instrument you have
at your disposal feels
and sounds just right.

When you are first starting out
and trying to figure out whether
whatever you have discovered
will be a short-term or a life-long
passion you usually have moments
when you start to question
everything about what something
means to you and why, and ultimately –
if something truly means
that much to you then you will
walk to the ends of the Earth
trying to find the end of the threads
that binds everything that makes
you who and what you are together.

When you first start creating art,
when you first start acting
on your instincts,
when you first start believing
that you can contribute something
to the tapestry of life on this
planet that is truly beautiful,
then you start to grow and become
something new at the same time
that you realize that
what you are actually doing
is walking a path that begins
and ends in the exact same place –
and when as you live longer
and as you see more of
life’s bigger picture
then you come to realize
that the universe, and the life
of everything and everybody,
is a journey that everybody takes
the long way round one big circle.

My Poem “Undercover”

Undercover, under the hood, under the skin –
whether sitting under the shine of the sun,
or at times when under the weather,
whether it is raining or sunny –
everybody is somebody else,
everybody has a secret identity,
everybody dreams, thinks,
feels, and dwells upon
the reflection of the one
who they see within themselves
when they internalise with their
inward looking eyes…
Under normal circumstances
the best way to understand
why we do what we do
and who we are would be to stop
ourselves and to scrutinise
what we truly want and desire
and to ask ourselves whether
the actions that we have taken
have been progressive or self-destructive
in order to find the bliss
that we wish we had within our grasp…
Under investigation the sins
and the crimes that we are guilty of
are clear as day –
but just because we might be guilty
of being selfish from time to time
that does not mean that heaven does not await
each and every one of us
if we seek and follow a path of redemption
and if we first forgive ourselves
for being human and fallible…
Under a microscope
a scientist may be able to discover
a lot about what makes our biology
the way that it is and how different
we are from other people
who might look similar to how we appear –
however, the truth of the matter is
that everybody is a product
and the result of an experiment
that has been ongoing
for billions of years
and characters in a story
that each of us has a version of
that we tell ourselves all the time,
that binds everybody and who
and how they see themselves
when they are looking at the world
from under a cover.

My Poem “Reason to Live”

Bubbles, snow-globes,
enclosed worlds within worlds…
distracted people drawn away
from the real world around them,
focused upon another place, another time,
and people other than
those right in front of them…
books, screens, words, images, suck people in…
stories, tales, reports, events,
experiences present the different lives
that people choose to live.

Humanity have always been dreamers…
humanity has always been a species
of detectives searching for a truth…
humanity has always been a collective
of connected lives that progress
further in their development
when they work together with a common goal…
every man, every woman, every child
has known, since the first man
and the first woman opened their eyes
and looked upon one another,
that there was more to be found
and more to be seen when there is
a meaningful union of minds,
hearts, bodies, and souls.

People in a relationship
always share things that are unique:
memories, experiences, thoughts, feelings,
likes, dislikes, and commonalities
that are exclusive to them…
everybody is brought together for a reason:
in order to make sure that the universe
unfolds the way it is supposed to –
and that is why, in this life, in this world,
everybody gets back what they give.

Every day things need to be done,
choices need to be made,
and as a result we may be required
to reap what we sow – in other words:
if you are good, if you do good,
if you express good thoughts
and you have good intentions,
then one day, maybe, you will come through
all the storms of trouble and confusion
that are put in front of you,
and no matter what anybody says
and no matter what anyone does
you will bask in the light of hope,
influence and inform the world
around you, and give someone
who feels as if they are adrift
the gift of a lift that will
give them a reason to live.

My Poem “Appreciation”

We don’t always appreciate something
when we first see them,
we don’t always appreciate someone
when we first meet them,
we don’t always appreciate what
something means when
it is first given to us,
we don’t always appreciate
what someone does for us,
until we witness the work,
the sacrifice, the effort that someone
might have had to put into something
so that people can keep living their lives
and keep doing what they like to do –
because, most of the time, in this life
most people are oblivious to
the other sides of life
that exist behind curtains, walls,
doors, barriers, even underground,
that keep the wheels of society turning…
nothing happens without first
putting some effort into something.

Everything comes from something,
something comes from someone,
someone comes from something
than someone does –
because that is the cycle of life,
that is the process of life…
life on Earth is a potent mixture
of chemistry, physics, biology,
psychology, origin, struggle,
discovery, knowledge, adaptability,
innovation, strength of spirit,
and it should be a choice
and a willingness
to want to better yourself
and make the world better for your actions.

Most people don’t appreciate
something until they
no longer have it,
and the people that
understand and appreciate
what they have should know
how lucky they are
to have what they have
and they shouldn’t wish
they had what someone else has.

Things happen for a reason –
even the things that
we wish didn’t have to happen…
most things and most people
follow a pattern of behavior
that they find hard to break free of
because when they are on
the same path that they know so well
and they might not often think about
anything else or anyone else other than
the result and the reward that they are going
to receive when they reach the end
of their current cycle of repetition.

Very few people actually know
or ever ask where, when, and how
something appeared before their eyes
to their overwhelming delight –
because no one is capable
of being witness to every step of the way,
nor every chapter of the story,
of how something found itself transitioning
from being something literal
into being something physical;
however, some people do ask themselves why
things are the way that they are,
and when they do they often times
they are unknowingly opening doors
to all the other worlds that exist on Earth
that surround us all,
and when some people step through
those doors and they take a specific journey
to a world and a life
that is so close but which feels so far away,
people can come to attain
an understanding about things,
about life, about people, about nature,
and gain a wider, deeper, richer,
and a more respectful appreciation
about what goes into making
the life that we see every day
and at the same time the same life that
we may find that we do not really know.

My Poem “Deus ex Poetica”

Wishes and prayers come from hope…
inspiration rises when a feeling is set free…
memories and emotions are like ghosts…
poetry comes from God, and God comes from poetry.

Nobody has ever asked God why they created the universe –
but nobody should ever ask an artist
why they create the art that they make,
because, most of the time, an artist
is only following their instincts
and trying to capture a feeling, an experience,
or an emotion that they want to share.

An artist can spend years living in darkness –
and then, light, life, an idea,
an entire universe can instantly come into being
and start a chain-reaction that expands without end
before their eyes, and build a reality
of its own, layer by layer.

There is always someone listening…
there is always someone watching…
there is always someone thinking,
dreaming, and imagining something new…
there is always someone waiting…
there is always someone anticipating…
there is always someone creating
magic from out of the blue.

Everything is what it is for a reason…
everybody is who they are because who they are
is who they are meant to be…
everyone who is anyone has at least once in their life
opened their heart, closed their eyes,
dug down deep within themselves, touched their own soul,
and returned to the world with something about themselves
that they never knew they possessed.

When an artist first becomes an artist,
what they feel, what they see,
and what they know drives their emotions
and their imagination, can sometimes be scary –
however, the more that an artist creates,
the more that they want to create…
artists are constantly driving to inspire
a feeling in someone else because of the echo
of a feeling of that which inspired them –
comedians receive such a feverish reaction
to their art when they inspire
an audience of people into laughter.

God has always been
the greatest artist anyone has ever known…
since the beginning – when they created
the heavens and the Earth –
every day God’s greatest creation – Life –
continues to evolve and be reinterpreted
over and over again, and it will continue to be –
because Life will always be the greatest masterpiece
ever envisioned or created, just as it has been
since the beginning of time
when God created poetry.

My Poem “Don’t walk away”

It’s hard to learn how not to do something
when doing that something has meant so much to you…
it’s hard to change how you see something
when that same something has been
what has defined you for so long…
something new isn’t always what you need…
something you already know feels so good,
because it is what gives birth to your dreams…
walking away from somewhere where everybody
knows your name and what you like,
walking away from someone who knows you
better than anybody, is a truly selfish act…
walking away from something, or someone,
when you have no good reason to do so is bad,
and when you try to start again without something,
or someone in particular, in your life, you feel empty,
you feel sad, you feel like you are going mad…
things can be tough sometimes…
everybody makes mistakes…
we are all human – which means that
we do not have unlimited time to waste…
when we walk away from something, or someone,
we sometimes leave behind a vital part of ourselves,
a part of our soul, and afterwards we feel like
we are living in a limbo-like daze –
because we are not the same…
if I could turn back the clock
I would definitely do some things differently;
Why? Because I have learned the hard way
that some things feel right for a reason,
and if you truly value the way that something,
or someone, makes you feel
then you should never walk away from them –
because, take it from me,
one day you may regret that decision.

My Poem “The Reason”

I want to dance with you again…
I want to hold you close…
I want to touch the face
that I see every moment in my dreams
and kiss the lips that feel as amazing
as raindrops falling upon sunburnt skin…
I want to look into your eyes
and marvel at how they sparkle like stars…
I want to love you with all my heart…
I want to make you happy…
I want you to never have to worry…
I want to walk with you in the sunshine…
I want to stand atop a mountain
and shout up to the heavens that
I am the luckiest man in the entire world
because you are mine…
I never want to lose you…
I would do anything for you…
I would give anything to always be with you…
I wish I could walk on water or fly through the air,
because if I could then I would journey
however many miles I have to travel
so that I can be there with you again
and never have to leave…
I love you with all my heart and all my soul,
my beautiful Angel – and to me you will always be
the reason I live and breathe.