This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections.
In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Once Upon A Time’, from his poetry collection The Storyteller, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A video of me reciting my poem “The Explorer”, from my poetry collection ‘The Storyteller’, on a special hill to me, in my home village.
If only the truth could be known about every mystery…
if only every side of an argument could be
made and proven equally…
if only everyone could know
what someone else is going through…
if only the right words can be found,
at the right time, to be able to express
what can be hard to say about why things happened
the way that they happened
and what the consequences of them
continue to mean to you.
Some people are just better at doing certain things,
some people are just better at remembering certain details,
some people are just better at explaining
the reason why the pieces of a puzzle
all fit together and create a certain image,
some people are just better at making sense of the world
and coming up with a solution to solve
multiple problems all at once -
and then there are those people who
claim they are not special in the slightest,
but who can recite great depths of detail
and trivia about a specific passion of theirs
that they could talk about for hours on end.
For some people, it doesn’t take much to make them happy…
for some people, they don’t need to know
what is going on with anything or anyone else
other than those in their inner circle of family and friends…
for some people, it wouldn’t matter if they were told
that we had been visited by multiple time-travellers,
by countless dimensional-tourists,
by an untold number of intergalactic
extraterrestrial species from many different worlds,
because some people try to focus only on
what they know for certain
and the reality of what is right in front of them…
for some people, actions matter more than words;
when it comes to who we are, what we are,
what we know, what we do, what we have done,
where we have been, and who and what we love,
I believe that only each of us
can give an honest opinion on
what code we choose to live by
and how we justify the actions that we take -
because we are the only one who truly knows ourselves
and we are the only one
who can explain the reason for the steps
that we have taken upon the path of our lives,
from our perspective,
chapter and verse.
Every story ever told,
published within every book
ever written about the life of someone,
there are always things that people want to know,
there are always things that people want to find,
there are always secrets that people want to uncover,
there are always questions that people want answers to;
however, not everything can be known about everyone -
and, as the saying goes:
“History is written by the victors”,
and of course “to the victor go the spoils”…
every story ever told isn’t always a true
and completely accurate portrayal
of what actually happened
where, when, why, how, and to whom…
every story ever told has had its share of reinterpretation -
which is normal, and especially when you are talking about
a story concerning a person, a place,
and a time a long time ago…
every story ever told has always been
a one sided narrative of certain events and people -
because once a story has been told,
and it is ultimately retold to others,
and perhaps even translated
into a completely different language,
when it is read or heard once again
something will always be left behind -
perhaps something fundamental in deciding
the true meaning of the story in question…
every story ever told originates
from a universal source of inspiration -
however just because the source of something
may be the same that does not mean that
the end result of something that comes
as a result of the same spark as something else
will always appear similar;
in fact, that is why the likelihood
of a multiverse of infinite possibilities
all existing and playing out in parallel to one another
is so intriguing and exciting
and may be proof of such a concept
that things can turn out differently
if different choices are made
by different versions of ourselves
when faced with the same situation…
every story ever told has a hidden meaning
and a hidden story within that will only
show itself after the same story is repeatedly enjoyed
and after a period of time in between -
because time, space, and our own individual
lives and experiences are always a factor
in how a particular story impacts upon us…
every story ever told -
from one set within a world of science-fiction
to one set in the past and involving
characters who live a life of privilege,
from a love story to one that is about
people trying to make a new life in a new world -
is all about relationships and about
the vastly different ways that people
are capable of treating one another,
as well as about how the actions of people
can affect the lives and the intentions
of those around them…
every story ever told is a testament
to humanities inner-most understanding
of the importance of sharing knowledge and information
to help in the development of our relationship
with one another as well as with nature
and the rest of the universe…
every story ever told are not all to be found
if you were to physically visit a library,
or if you were search on the internet,
because some stories have literally
been burned from history
and all that is left of them now
are fragments of what they were
and who and what they were about -
which is why I believe we should all strive
to do our best to preserve the memory
of everything and everyone for future generations
in every way that we can
so that the world of tomorrow will always know
what past versions of ourselves wanted
passed down to those who followed them
so that humanity would never forget
the messages of consciousness
encoded within every word
of every story ever told.
“The Storyteller” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript
“Locutus” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
“The Individual” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
“The Xmas Factor” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
“Tomorrow’s World” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
“Word Search” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
Mark The Poet 