the universe
My Poem “Zen”
For there to be white, there must and black... for there to be light, there must be dark... for there to yin there must be a yang... for there to be stars, heat, and life on any given planet, there must be the cold and hostile vaccum of space for the two opposing forces of nature - life and death - to have their way and test the limits and the extremes of their own potential... for good to prevail there must be evil to vanquish... for hope to win in the end there must be the shadow of doubt to sometimes struggle with... for the best of the best to be crowned there must be ups and downs from which lessons are learned which inspire others down the road who are on their own journey of self-discovery... for the entirety of this version of the universe there has existed both the beginning and the end, the start and the finish, the Go and the Stop, the found and the lost - but there are places where and when the interconnected consciousness of all living things communicates with one another consciously as well as unconsciously, that some have even reported to have visited and returned from feeling changed and brand new: nirvana, heaven, Eden, space, the frontier, the edge, high above the clouds or deep below the ocean - after which they can both perceive and understand forever that the balance that keeps the wheels of existence rolling as serenely as a sphere of energy spinning through space, that is both perfect and imperfect at the same time, would have to be one of the most wonderful symbols in existence that captures the true essence of what it means to be zen.
My Poem “Walk Free”
Beauty all around…
nature in full display…
the call of the wild…
as I stare at the blue sky,
the tall trees, the green fields,
I am once again inspired by everything
and by everyone who I meet
who have also chosen to take to the trail
and travel by using the strength
of their mind as well as their feet.
I feel like I know every blade of grass…
I feel like I recognise every leaf…
I feel like I have an emotional
connection to my path…
I never feel like I am walking alone –
because whenever and wherever I walk
I feel like I am walking alongside fellow
poets, artists, and philosophers
who have all shared at one time or another
a deep and a profound belief
that everything and everyone is inextricably linked.
There is more to what makes life
what it is than we could ever know…
there is more to the nature of the
universe
than anyone could ever accurately
conceive nor put into words…
there are things that we feel
deep inside of us that we do not show
until we are breathing in the fresh air
of nature, and who we are, who we were,
and who we will always be meet –
because there are times and there are places
when and where within our minds
we communicate with everything
and everyone around us in ways
that are engrained into our true nature,
like the rings of a tree –
which can be awakened at any time
that we choose to step outside and walk free.
My Poem “So much to love”
There is so much to love about life…
there is so much to love about nature…
there is so much to love about the side
of the world that is seen during the day
and there is so much to love
about the side of the universe
that only reveals itself during the night…
there is so much to love about
how people care for one another,
how people are drawn to one another,
and how people choose to show
their love and devotion of one another.
There is so much to love about
certain people in our lives
than we could ever put into words…
there is so much to love about
how some people help those
who cannot help themselves
that is something instinctive than anything
that over time could ever be learned…
there is so much more to love about
the intrinsic language of the seasons
than our human ears could ever possibly hear…
there is so much to love about
those people who sacrifice their own lives
in order to give others a reason not to fear.
There is so much to love about
the things that we may see every day
that we may sometimes take for granted…
there is so much to love about
the mementos of memories that we
have made and the rembrances of experiences
that we surround ourselves with
that are a permanent fragment
of time that cannot ever be repeated…
there is so much to love about
a moment of silence when you can
look within yourself and know that
what and who you have in your
life are more than enough.
We cannot always get what we want –
but during our lives we are given gifts
that always remind us that though life
can sometimes be tough we can all find
an example of something or someone
who has qualities about them that draw
us to them because there is something about them
that there is so much to love.
My Poem “We Have It All”
I am different…
you are different…
everybody is different –
and yet we are all the same,
which I think is absolutely amazing!
I am on a different path,
you are in a different lane –
and yet so many people
find themselves at the same
moment of crossroads
when and where there is a vital
transference of knowledge and energy,
which can feel electrifying!
I am experiencing what I see
and what I feel around me personally,
you are interpreting everything
like only you can –
and yet when there is the discovery
of a breakthrough of life-changing proportions
people from all around the world
can gather together and herald
the arrival of yet another game-changer
in how we all live our lives.
I have never stopped being
in awe of the power and the poetry
of the universe that we can see
and measure with our own eyes
and with some of the instruments
that we have invented;
however, I know that all the secrets of existence
may never be known –
which is fine by me,
because there is more to be gained
by investigating the source of a riddle
than the eventual reveal of a mystery.
I understand the draw to explore…
I agree that we need to colonize
other worlds in order to know
more about the diversity of life
throughout the universe of galaxies…
I do not dispute that there are
other planets with other civilizations
living and thriving on them…
I would gladly take a ticket to ride
upon a rocket into orbit
or aboard a starship at warp-speed
to another part of the Milky Way galaxy –
but I do think that we all need to
look around at this world
that we live upon once in a while,
our home, and realize that right now
this is all that we have, this is who we are,
and if we could all just choose
to stop making so much of our
societies revolve around
corruption and greed
then everybody could have it all
because here on Earth
we have everything that
we could possibly need.
My Poem “Everything means something”
With every leaf that falls,
with every moment that passes,
with every word that is spoken,
each of us always want more:
more time with certain people,
more things to enjoy,
more experiences to one day recall,
more gifts of the life that we have been given –
because the world is not enough,
because the universe is constantly
changing and evolving,
and we all want to be there
when the next quantum leap
in something becomes an every day thing.
With every year that seemingly flies by,
I am reminded of just how precious
every word, every smile,
every touch, every look into the eye
of someone who matters to me is,
because what we have with people
has an end time –
not in an emotional sense,
but most definitely in a physical sense –
which is why as I get older I consider
people of significance to me
as if they were flowers,
butterflies, or fireflies,
because the indefinable colours
and the spark of life that makes
somebody who and what they are
transitions over time into
becoming something entirely different.
With every new season,
we see changes in colour,
we see changes in light,
we see changes in perspective,
and we see changes in
our perception of time:
as some people get older
a new day’s sunrise and a sunset
seemingly happens within
the blink of an eye of one another
and days can be experienced
as if they were minutes or hours –
which is why I believe now
more than ever what has been
told to me all my life:
never forget where you came from
nor what the cost was for you
to have who and what you have
in your life –
because, when you think of it,
everything means something.
My Poem “Stephen Hawking”
Ever since I was a child
I have been staring up at
the stars of the universe
and I have been staring at
the wonders of the world
and asking questions about the origins
of everything and everyone…
ever since I was a child
I have been enthralled by science
and the many scientific discoveries
that have been made over the centuries…
ever since I was a child
I have been interested in learning more about
physics, chemistry, biology,
and how and why things in nature
work the way that they do on our planet
and elsewhere in the cosmos;
and I will never forget learning about
who scientists were and what they
were famous for: scientists like
Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie,
Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein –
and E = mc2 was the first
and is still the only scientific equation
that I can effortlessly recite from memory;
however, I must admit that it wasn’t until
I became more familiar with the renowned
theoretical physicist and cosmologist
Stephen Hawking – his story, and his pursuit
of a Theory of Everything –
that I became enthralled by the concept
that science and discovery was something
that could be achieved by anybody
with the gift of seeing beyond their periphery.
Stephen Hawking was, and still is,
in my opinion, one of the greatest minds
there has ever been…
Stephen Hawking defied the odds of life
at any and every opportunity
and he never allowed the fact that for
that majority of his adult life
his body was confined to a wheelchair
because he had Motor Neuron Disease
to stop him from becoming famous,
inspirational, and world renowned
because of the way that he was able
to think about and interpret the hidden
secrets of the origin and the nature of the universe.
For most of his life Stephen Hawking
was only able to communicate with the aid
of a computer generated voice –
that over time became just as synonymous
with him as his great intelligence did –
and nevertheless he was able to
share so many theories and insights
into the inner-workings of reality
and he eventually ascended to
become the Lucasian Professor of
Mathematics at the University of Cambridge
for thirty years, and in that time
he published books, he gave inspirational speeches,
and he showed the world that anybody
could achieve anything simply through
using the power of their own mind –
and, in my opinion, that is why
there will never be anyone
who embodies who a person can be
and what they can do if they choose to
not give up, to keep fighting, to keep living,
and to keep considering new ways
of seeing things from different perspectives,
than the personification of hope
who will never be forgotten:
the one and the only
Professor Stephen Hawking.
My Poem “The World Book”
The layers of our world
are like the infinite pages
of a book of stories, secrets,
truths, colours, and characters
that is so vast and epic in scale
and in depth that if it were
not already a planet
it would need to be as big
as the Earth is in order
to capture and to understand
the mysterious, the thrilling,
the poetic, the dramatic,
the suspenseful,
the often unbelievable
and the unpredictable
world that we live in
and which we all have our own
opinion of concerning where it all began,
where we are, and where are collective
story will ultimately one day take us.
Most things in this world
have a system to them
that are as predictable
and occur as regular as clockwork;
however, because of several
outside influences,
some twists and turns in every journey
require everything and everyone
to adapt to what they find themselves facing
and become a chameleon of the times
that they find themselves living in.
Some things will always change,
some things will stay the same –
but no matter what anybody does
or doesn’t do
this world will keep turning
and creating new life,
because this world was once blessed
by the light of creation of our mutual sun
and the most important star
in our sky that has never
stopped shining down upon us.
This universe of galaxies, of stars,
of planets, of rock, of gases,
of matter, and of energy
that we do not yet fully understand
the behaviour of but we have,
of course, already given a name to,
is the beginning, it is life,
it is everything,
it is where things makes sense,
it is where we are still learning
every nuance and characteristic of
and the reason for its ultimate existence.
Everybody in this universe –
especially those of us here on Earth –
are a blessed and gifted storytellers,
even if they don’t already know they are,
and each with their own story and version
of reality to interpret and to convey;
because it is in the nature of everything,
in everybody, in every atom,
in every consciousness,
in every thought, in every instinct,
in every idea to be it’s best self,
but since we all mostly have a choice
in what direction we will choose to take
the path, the actions, and the outcome
of everyone’s life can only be uniquely theirs
and no one else’s –
which can be a source of confusion for some people;
however, when you really think about it,
life on any kind of scale is not meant
to be fully understood
but each of us naturally have our own
beliefs and thoughts about why things
are the way that they are,
why some things will always turn out
the way that they always have done,
and what is it about all the stories
ever told, retold, and reinterpreted
that just fits perfectly into the vast library,
that when seen from space
is spherical in appearance,
that has a name, “Earth”,
and which will eternally be
the title of the book that is our world.
markthepoet.me 