rock

In Tribute To David Bowie: Talking About My Book “Playing God”

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I remember January 10th, 2016, like it was yesterday… I remember what I was doing and where I was on the day when I heard that David Bowie had died… and I remember what I did next: I wrote a poem. I wrote a poem for David Bowie called “Always The Starman”, because I wanted to pay tribute to him, to who he was, and to what he and his music meant to so many people from all around the world. Then, not long after, I was inspired to write a short story that was not about David Bowie per se but his spirit definitely influenced it, my story “The Man in Black”; and following on from my short story I would go on to write six more short stories once again influenced by the spirit of David Bowie, which I would go on to collect together and have published in my short story collection “Playing God”. The original 2018 paperback version of “Playing God” had this image of David Bowie on the cover which I drew against a starry backdrop, and the 2024 hardback version featured a cover which was inspired by a sketch of David Bowie which was already within my book – but I gave it a fresh twist of colour and detail. Anyway, suffice to say, if it weren’t for David Bowie then I don’t know who I would be right now, because David Bowie has inspired me and he has influenced me for years in one way or another. I am so grateful for the spirit and the music of David Bowie which has visited me and inspired me so many times over the years, and I know that I am not the only one who feels that way. Rest in peace, David Bowie. Thank you, Starman. ⭐ 🖤

– Mark

”Bowie” by Annatomix

My Poem ‘Standing Rock’

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All ground is sacred ground…
the Earth beneath our feet
has its own identity…
the world that moves silently through space,
and its spirit, is so powerful and nurturing
that it creates its own gravity
and a near-perfect environment
for all life to thrive and live…
all that breath in the air of the planet
to which we are all bound and indebted
are expected to not only take away,
but to give back in return…
our home, this world, is the home
of countless species and forms of life –
each and every-one given from birth
the rite to exist and fulfill their destiny…
some people have learned to understand
and interpret the timeless language of nature,
and they also understand that not only
does the Earth have a spirit –
so too do the trees, the plants,
the animals, the mountains, the rivers,
the seas, the fish, the microscopic organisms
smaller than the human eye can see…
every thing with a consciousness,
with thoughts, with feelings, with emotions,
with instincts, with a reason to be,
has a reason to be alive…
even a single drop of rain adds to our planets worth…
we are all luckier than we know
to live on the planet that do…
long after all the stories of our lives
have faded to dust, the Earth will still have
a billion and more mornings and nights,
Winters and Summers, frosts and thaws,
and the world will live on –
and though humanity will have gone,
we will still be ingrained in the DNA
of our home-world, and our monuments will remain,
just as the beautiful natural-monuments of Earth
will continue to boggle the mind
of everyone who is lucky enough to see
our planet’s deepest reaches
and its breath-taking, towering,
and still-standing mountains,
and epic formations –
our most special and sacred
wonders of Earth and rock.

mypoem-standingrock

My Poem ‘My Rock, My Star’

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You think that I am brilliant;
I think that you are amazing;
you tell me that I am the one that you want;
I tell you that to me you are will always be beautiful,
and every day I cannot get enough
of looking at your gorgeous face
and staring at your dazzling eyes
that to me are constantly sparkling.

I want you to know
that you are my only one;
you want me to know
that you will always love me beyond words;
I need you to know that you are my sun;
you need me to know that I am the only man
in the entire world who you love.

We talk all the time;
we see each other every day;
we think about each other morning, noon, and night;
we are meant to be together
and what we both mean to each other we can only say.

I tell you that I will love you forever;
you tell me that you will always be there for me
and you will never leave me no matter what;
I tell you that we will always be together;
you tell me that there is nothing
that you would not do for me,
and you have always said to me
that you would love me
even if either of us had no money
and if we both had to sleep every night
in a blue and green painted cardboard box.

We two are music lovers;
we two love each other;
we two have never been happier than when we are together;
we two are each others life-saver.

My moon, my gravity,
my fortune, my destiny,
my heart, my soul,
my first, my last,
my universe, my heavenly angel,
my diamond, my gold,
my train of thought,
my eternal compass to know who I am,
my inspiration and muse
who believes in me so much
and who wants me to never give up
or ever stop writing
and leaving my poetic marks;
my breathtaking and life-defining rock,
who rocks my world…
my sunshine, my beautiful star.

My Poem ‘Hard Rain’

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It’s never too late
to learn something new;
it’s never going to be the case
that you are going to know
everything about everyone;
it is at times when you are not
expecting anything to come to light
that you invariably learn something
you never knew;
it’s never too late to ask questions
and get answers that make your thoughts
just want to run and run.

Music has always been important to me,
and to my family, for as long as I can remember,
since long before I was even born;
music has always had the key
to unlock the door into our soul;
however, it wasn’t until just recently
that I learned from my Dad
that he had once been a ‘roadie’
in the 1970’s for a rock-band,
and I am still enthralled and in awe
because (yet again) my Dad has surprised me
with an interesting and inspiring insight into him
which I love to learn and hear stories
told to me about –
because, to me, it just makes my Dad even more cool.

Hearing my Dad tell me how he used to help
transport and set up the equipment
of the band ‘Hard Rain’ –
a group that I had never heard of before –
I was inspired within seconds;
hearing my Dad reflect and remember
times that he enjoyed, as always,
brought a smile to my face
and made me feel emotions
that no one else could possibly understand.

As a child, I remember us as a family
having musical instruments around us:
a recorder, a keyboard, an organ,
an electric-guitar, an acoustic-guitar,
that my Dad used to play and strum
a song and a tune exquisitely with –
even now, my Dad knows more songs
and can sing every word of his favourite band,
‘The Beatles’, and he knows the deep meaning
within those magical lyrics,
and he has been moved by them
on more than one occasion – as have I –
and each song, and each piece of music,
I know when I hear them now,
are nothing short of amazing and incredible poetry.

I have always wanted to play an instrument,
write a song, come up with a melody,
bring my words and my inner music to life,
so that the whole world can hear it;
I have always wanted to take my poetry
and make my imagination and words
shine like no other poet;
I have always wanted to give something
back to people, and the world,
for reasons that I can’t fully explain;
I have always been someone
with a great eye and a great ear,
and, to me, seeing and hearing
as much as can be seen and heard
is a gift we are all born with –
and if you are someone creative,
or if you are someone who just
wants to be a part of something in some way,
then I can honestly say
that I too am there with you
in that want to be touched and changed,
and to remain connected to,
what makes my heart beat so long and so thunderous
as the music of hard rain.