Wherever we are,
whatever we are doing,
the world around us
is constantly in motion -
as are everyone and everything...
wherever you are, whatever time it is,
everyone should take the time
to close their eyes
and attempt to take a step back
from all the sights that can be seen
and from all the sounds that can be heard
so that they can create a new vision
of how they perceive the world
by using their remaining senses.
When you close your eyes,
it almost feels like you are floating in space...
when you are alone,
especially at the instant
when you awaken,
it almost feels as if
you have woken up from one life
and are now living in another -
different, however similar,
from the one you know...
when you try to create
an image within your mind
of someone and something
you have not seen for some time,
it can be like trying to put together
the pieces of a puzzle
with only the glow of candlelight,
or like trying to remember a person's name
by only seeing flashes of their face.
Wherever, whatever, or to whomever
we always return to
whenever we feel drawn
to something, to someone,
or to somewhere within,
somehow we always find
what we are looking for -
not what we are told to find...
it is only when we are given
the gift to be able to focus
on what and who
matters the most to us
that we can sometimes feel
a connection with something
other than ourselves -
something that feels as if
it is always there and always has been.
Wherever we are,
and whatever we all
have to go through in this life,
we are all capable of doing
something extraordinary:
seeing what something is,
or what someone looks like,
by using our thoughts,
our feelings, our experiences,
and our memories to fill in the gaps
of what we don't know
with what we do know -
it's something that
we all do all the time;
however, it is only by seeking
moments of stillness and solace -
when all is quiet and almost silent -
that we can all learn more
about ourselves and more about
what life asks of all of us,
but only if we truly stop and listen.
stillness
My Poem “Dusk”
The golden and blue hue of dusk
is the view that greets me
when I gaze out of my window
at the evening sky –
soon all will be dark
and the stars will shine
brightly on the horizon and above me…
Slowly the once blinding light of the sun
fades to an after glow in the West…
All is quiet, all is peaceful…
The streetlights start to illuminate one by one…
Slowly but surely night is falling upon us…
This truly is the time of magic…
The sky looks more beautiful
now than it does during the day…
There is a stillness and an enchantment
that feels like it is at play…
Day becomes night without so much as a fuss…
This time is one of the most powerful…
Words cannot describe this captivating
and this awe-inspiring time of dusk.
My Poem “Driftwood”
So much of life is beautiful…
so much is beautiful about life…
so much of life is expressed through colour…
so much of life is expressed through music…
so much of the world speaks
with a silent tongue in moments of stillness…
a brown leaf falling
from the branch of a tree to the ground…
the silhouettes of things
both exposed and obscured
because of the early morning
light of the sun…
a green field with yellow flowers
swaying in the breeze…
the slowly flowing water of a river…
nature certainly puts on a show for the senses
when you stop and take it all in…
it is with the golden light
that shines from above
that you can see the world’s gifts…
it is when we are free and unconfined
that we can truly breath in and breath out
the essence of meaning of nature,
life, belonging, and light…
it is with the gentle breeze that you feel
that your thoughts and your dreams
may dance the waves of life like driftwood.
My Poem “_”
The wind blows… the trees sway…
the water of the lake ripples…
the raindrops fall upon my face…
the clouds are grey…
it is not even midday,
and though the sky feels like
it is falling down on me
I feel completely at peace and content,
as I sit on a bench
looking out at this oasis of tranquility,
completely exposed to the elements of nature,
as the ink of my pen becomes smudged
as I write in my notebook –
however I do not mind for a second
what is happening around me and above me
which I have no control over,
because all that concerns me in this moment
is where my inspiration
and the thoughts of my imagination will take me…
some moments leave quickly
like a leaf on the wind,
while others will live forever
and they will never leave me.
Happy Internatinal Literacy Day!
My Poem “Rhapsody”
The voices of everybody over-lap…
one minute the music is jazz,
the next the beautiful melody of a piano…
the echoes of a chorus of sounds
are carried through the air
like the waves of an ocean…
there are moments of time that run slow
and there are those that race past
and then are gone again in a flash…
there is a dance of people,
of language, of emotions,
of noise, of stillness, of silence…
the beats of a heart,
the thoughts of a mind,
the air and the ambiance
that flows gently like a stream
can gradually become a waterfall –
the place, the people, the music,
the moment that is filled
with an infinite number of instants
that make them who and what they are
is what is at the heart
and what is the true essence
of what poetry, to me, is all about…
the best poetry comes from the heart of a poet
who feels a moment of time and an experience
so deeply and so profoundly
that it can only be expressed as a rhapsody.
My Poem ‘Tableau’
The music stops.
Time stands still.
You could hear
the sound of a pin drop.
Everyone and everything
is motionless
and as statuesque
as anyone could ever hope to be.
I look around where I am,
and I see the many different faces of people
who are in the exact same place,
at the exact same time, with me;
I was searching for inspiration,
however it looks like it has found me.
People come to the same place –
but, more often than not,
for different reasons;
I come here to write, to observe,
to listen, to enjoy the atmosphere,
and also to drink some coffee –
however, I can see that even though
there are parallels in people’s lives,
everybody is here under a different guise.
I scan the space where I am in a flash,
and I make instant observations of the people
sitting at all the tables:
some people are talking,
some people are reading,
some people are drinking,
some people are in the middle
of a moment of laughter,
and some people look as if
they are on their way to leaving;
some people look happy;
some people look sad;
some people look over-joyed;
some people look like
they are students from university;
some people look at home where they are sat;
some people are looking in at us all
through the window that separates
the inside from the outside.
Some people look incredibly fashion-conscious;
some people look religious;
some people look like they are on their way to work;
some people look as if they are reading something
that they need to learn.
Most people are wearing the same colours –
black, blue, and grey,
appear to be the predominant palette of choice;
however, there are small touches
being worn by people that set them apart
and show their inner-personality and voice.
Reality snaps back.
Time starts moving forward again.
People continue with their lives.
That frozen moment moves
from being the present to the past;
words are spoken;
people continue their conversations;
and at that instant,
there is the most intense
and extreme explosion of light.
The world is a work of art;
the masterpiece that is life
is a canvas that changes in infinite ways –
by the moment, you can see, feel, and think,
so much within the time of the beat of a heart;
life moves so fast,
and sometimes the only way
that you can truly appreciate
the tapestry of existence
is to have a moment of true stillness –
when you can look at the world
and see it like a tableau.
Mark The Poet 