So often in my life
I have been somewhere,
with someone, as well as alone,
when I have immediately understood
that I was witnessing something
that to me looked and felt extraordinary
in some way, shape, or form -
however, it was not until I became a poet
that I knew I had the skill set
to be able to put into words
and paint a picture with language
exactly what something in particular,
or someone in particular,
meant to me at a particular moment in time…
as time has gone by, some of the words
that I once used to describe something,
or someone, that seemed instantly amazing to me
have faded from memory -
like a photograph that has been
exposed to sunlight for too long -
and I have had to contend with
the fact that nothing remains
as they used to be forever,
because nature has a way of teaching all of us
that everything and everyone
has a purpose, a meaning,
and a reason for why they should be treated
as if it they are something unrepeatable,
unique, and a treasure like that of a rare find…
my heart has never ceased to want to
allow itself to live and breathe alongside
those of other likeminded souls,
but time and time again
my heart has been broken
and has had to repair itself
because the intentions of others were able
to override my own expectations and instincts
and lead me almost over a cliff…
my gift and my connection
to the universal muse has been able to
give me visions and dreams of places,
and my interpretation of the sound
of the orchestra of the cosmos
has allowed me to understand my place
in the grand scheme of things
when it comes to the reason why I am here -
and I must have had close to a million moments
in my time when I have seen something,
heard something, felt something,
and automatically picked up the means
to be able to carry out my destiny:
my innate ability to be able to
be witness to something and know
immediately in what way
I am going to capture it.
time
Christmas Poems: My Poem “Christmas Time”
In this episode, I recite one of my Christmas themed poems. In this episode I read my poem “Christmas Time” written in 2015.
A Journey Through Poetry #34: The Time is Now
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 ‘The Time Is Now’, from his poetry collection The Comeback Kid, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
A Journey Through Poetry #30: Good Things Ahead
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 ‘Good Things Ahead’, from his poetry collection The Eternal Boy, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
My Poem “All that has happened before”
Since the beginning of everything,
the universe has been remaking itself…
since the first flash of existence,
reality has been changing the definition
of what it is supposed to be…
since our version of the laws of nature
settled upon a seemingly stable form
and continued to do things in the same way,
a cycle of repetition has been what has become
the most important aspect in the process
making sure that nothing stops
and then starts running in reverse…
since the ignition of the engine of
the world in which we live within
began the series of mechanisms
that keep every single one of the worlds orbiting their stars,
as well as keep the stars of their individual galaxy
encircling the dark maelstrom of
the supermassive black hole at their centre,
nothing has been able to break free
of what was set in motion when
space, time, and all the elements of life
in all its varied forms was created by something powerful -
unlike us, but connected to us -
whose purpose was to make the most
of the moment that was needed
to bring order to chaos…
since the first eyes looked up
and gazed at the heavens above,
people have been asking: why?
Why are we here?
Why does what always happens have to happen?
Why allow us to question our existence
and to ask the ultimate question: why?
since everybody has their own
individual answer to the question
of how we got to where we find ourselves,
all each of us can do is remember
that things happen for a reason,
life is sometimes what it is
and what it was always supposed to be,
questions and the search for the truth
are what will keep people exploring
as they always have, forever;
but one thing is for certain -
and something that stories, myths, scripture,
and the picture of the cosmos that anyone
can see with their own eyes every night after dark:
all that has happened before
will happen again, and again -
because it is supposed to.
The Storyteller: Make The Time
“Make The Time” 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 Storyteller: Fourth Dimensionally
“Fourth Dimensionally” 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 “2024”
The strange and the unusual…
the extraordinary and the unexpected…
life has a way of making you feel
like you are in a different world
than the one you were in before
on a regular basis, sometimes daily -
especially when you awaken in your bed
and you get the feeling that something
important has changed,
or is on the verge of changing everything.
I sometimes wonder what an earlier version of myself
would think if they were given
a snapshot of the future, and my present,
and how they would feel if they were told
what had taken place between their time and mine -
I would look so much older, so much greyer,
so much more like my father in so many ways,
and so much of what my younger self would learn
would be a shock to them just as much as
what happened was to shock to me…
I always believed that I could predict
what was going to happen and where I would be -
however no one can ever predict the outcome
of anything,
nor know what will lead to something,
unless they have foreknowledge,
or perhaps a map of all the things
that we will all encounter along
our life’s paths of multiple possibilities…
I know that even if a younger version of me
were to be given a chance to see and know
who and what they would one day be,
then they would choose to block out
what they might have learned,
because not doing so -
knowing that they could never
change anything that will happen
and has already happened -
would be something that they
would not be able to live with
without being driven mad.
Once again, this year was a time when I had to
make choices about what I wanted to do
and who I wanted to be -
and, as always, I chose to be
who I have been for as long as I can remember:
who my father tried to prepare me to be,
who people I used to know have helped me to be,
who I have always known was within me…
my life has always been one
of rebelling against expectations,
of doing what others could not
imagine I was capable of,
and of being there for those I love,
as well as never forgetting
who did what to whom, when, where, and how -
because I know better than most
that actions have consequences,
the effects of past events catch up with you,
and our past, present, and future selves
are influencing one another, sometimes subtlety,
over the continuum of our existence,
and which is why we sometimes feel
as if we have been somewhere,
as if we have done something,
or as if we have met someone before…
this year has been one of those times in my life
which will, once again, redefine me
and how I see myself whenever I look back -
because this year, like most years,
was the beginning, the end, and the start
of a new era and chapter in the story of my life,
and I wonder what will happen tomorrow
and beyond this year of regeneration:
the year that was 2024.
My Poem “Make the Time”
If you truly care about something,
if you truly care about somewhere,
if you truly care about someone,
then you do whatever you can
to call, to message, to reach out,
and to maintain a connection to them…
if you truly want what you share
with someone, with somewhere,
or with something to last,
then you have to be willing to do things,
to say things, and to sacrifice things
so that a bond can remain unbroken…
if you truly are what you think you are,
then no matter where you are,
no matter what you are doing,
and no matter who you are with,
your mind will always wander
to whatever it is, wherever it is,
or to whomever draws
your thoughts back to them
like the needle of a compass…
if you truly believe that you are
the only one who can tell your story,
and if you believe that you are the only one
who has the ability to do what only you can do,
then you have to go to where you need to go,
you need to do what you need to do,
and you have to be with who you need to be with
to allow the art and the words within you
to spill out of you as it is supposed to
like the gift of an artist or a poet…
if you truly want was is best
for something, for somewhere,
and for someone - including yourself -
then you have to make the right choice,
you have to make a decision that may
have an impact upon your future self and your future life,
and you may have to take a risk
that is worth taking to make a difference;
however, before anything else,
everybody who finds themselves having to walk a line
has to make the most of the most precious
commodity that we all have: time.
My Poem “The Waiting Room”
Every now and again,
each and every one of us
find ourselves somewhere
having to wait to do something,
somewhere we have to wait to see someone,
and every time we do there are always
certain things that we come to expect to find:
other people who are also waiting;
perhaps some music playing in the background;
some refreshments;
some reading material;
as well as a clock to tell us
how long we have to wait
and how long we have been waiting,
which always seems to move slower
than we want it to…
every now and again,
each and every one us
find ourselves somewhere,
alongside people we don’t know,
who we talk to, and who talk to us,
when the silence between us
becomes too unbearable -
most of the time in an attempt
to make “small talk”
and to fill the void that is present
throughout every experience
of having to pass the time of anticipation
within the walls of a waiting room.
Mark The Poet 