In this episode I recite one of my Christmas themed poems. In this episode I read my poem “Jingles” written in 2021.
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The Storyteller: Muses of Music
“Muses of Music” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
My Poem “Christmas Special”
Some people, some things, some places
are special all year round -
but some people, some things, some places
feel more "Christmas Special"
because they can seem to symbolise
what makes Christmas the magical
time of the year that it can be.
Some songs, some films, some episodes
of some TV shows can only be
truly enjoyed when it is
the intended time of the year
that they were made to capture the feeling of -
whether that is the old favourite
Christmas songs like:
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love,
"Last Christmas" by Wham!,
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey,
"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues;
or festive movies, such as:
"Home Alone," "It's A Wonderful Life,"
"Miracle on 34th Street," "Scrooge,"
"Elf," or "Santa Claus: The Movie,"
and many, many others -
which over time have become
staples of the festive experience,
and without them Christmas
just would not be Christmas.
Some pieces of clothing -
such as festive sweaters and Santa hats...
some food and drink -
such as turkey, stuffing, mince pies,
mulled wine...
some decorations -
such as tinsel, baubles,
and of course Christmas trees...
some weather conditions -
such as snow and ice -
seem to go with the time of the year
when Christmas is celebrated,
but might seem out of the ordinary
and an inconvenience at any other time
before or after the month of December.
Some things just sum up what Christmas is all about
and what it means to so many people
all over the world...
some customs -
like decorating a real or an artificial tree,
or taking children to see Father Christmas -
are amazing and wonderful...
some of the rituals that people
like to partake in -
like going to church, lighting a candle,
or saying a prayer for
a dearly missed loved one -
are much needed for so many
to allow them to cope through
a sometimes difficult period
when so many people feel
at their most vulnerable...
some of the most precious
and joyous moments
you will witness all year
happen when people show how sharing,
how caring, and how selfless they can be -
and I think it is the way that people
communicate through their thoughts,
through their messages,
and through their actions,
which makes Christmas truly special.
Merry Christmas! 🎄
A Poem A Day #343: The Perfect Song
A Poem A Day #280: As the song says
A Poem A Day #223: Our Song
My Poem “The Christmas Spirit”
As so often happens, I was sitting at my usual table in Starbucks when a song that I had never heard by one of my favourite artists - the one and the only "Man in Black", Johnny Cash - started to play... the song was "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day" - and as soon as I heard this Christmas carol in its own right that blessed all who heard it "peace on Earth" and "goodwill to men", I started to think about the true meaning of the season and why music has always been an important way for families and individuals to say what they want to say to one another. Music is just as fundamental to some as living is to breathing for others... the voice of a singer can break down barriers and unite people from many countries, with many accents, with many back stories - who can all find times to set aside their differences whenever they come together and stop and listen to someone with a message they felt within their heart as well as within their mind that someone else needed to hear. Christmas songs are only played at this time of the year, and every year new songs are written and recorded by artists that dream of being number one and perhaps remembered as fondly as those that repeatedly return to our ears year after year; however, I would say there are only a handful of Christmas songs that are enjoyed, replayed, and loved by many: John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over), "Last Christmas" by Wham!, "White Christmas" as sung by Bing Crosby, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues, and, of course, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey - because these songs have over time become quintessential in capturing the Christmas spirit like no others are able to, and personally all these songs always put a smile on my face every time I hear them and make me more and more ready for Christmas and overflowing with Christmas cheer.
A Poem A Day #62: The Christmas Spirit
My Poem “Jingles”
There is a reason why those jingles that we first hear as a child stay with us for so long... there is a reason why those Christmas songs that are replayed on the radio get stuck in our head and then get repeated by us just for fun... there is a reason why a Number One song catches the attention of someone, gets shared, and then goes viral simultaneously all around the world... there is a reason why a certain song sticks out among the crowd of infinite streams that there are and does not fade out of the public consciousness no matter what... there is a reason why we get attached to songs, to artists, to music, to the words of lyrics that seem to say everything that we openly want to convey... there is a reason why when we need to remember something, someone, somewhere, at some time in our life, we fall back upon that spark of magic that can only be experienced by hearing it with your ears as well as feeling it with your heart - that can make you close your eyes, that can take your breath away, and can sometimes give you goose pimples... there is a reason why we hold on to memories of childhood experiences that can easily return to our thoughts after hearing the slightest of jingles.
My Poem ‘Memento Vitae’
Mementos of life…
Photographs of us…
Memories of days and nights…
Echoes of love…
Souvenirs of where we’ve been…
Snapshots of who we’ve known…
Reminders of what we’ve seen…
Hallmarks of home.
Hope and happiness…
Laughter and light…
Smiles and kisses…
Children who have blossomed
before our eyes…
Things to remember…
Lessons learned…
That which truly matters…
Cycles of rebirth.
Sunrises and sunsets…
Timeless songs of yesterday…
The eternal souls
of those who we will never forget…
Music that stays with us everyday…
Unbroken Vows…
Promises made under starlight…
Words of truth spoken aloud…
Miracles never to be forgotten
from the gift that is our life.
Mark The Poet 