Life never ceases to amaze me
and to surprise me in so many ways…
I have been aware for a while now
that life is not always going to be,
nor meant to be, a straightforward path
that connects point A to point B…
life never stops inspiring me
and making me think…
I have always known that sometimes
things happen because they are meant to happen -
both the good and the bad,
both the expected and the unexpected;
however, life is constantly reminding me
that there is a lattice of interconnected
strands that bind us all to one another -
especially those of us who have worked together,
those of us who have worked alongside one another,
and those of us who worked as a team
and accomplished something because we knew
we could count on each other
no matter what had to be faced.
No one can know what is going to happen
whenever once parallel and intersectional paths
diverge after a choice is made and a decision is taken
to make a change for a reason
that makes perfect sense at a particular moment in time…
no one can truly predict what will happen in the future,
because life is not always the product
of what we want and what we think it will be…
no one is in a position to control what will happen,
nor when, because none of us have the omnipotent power
to change the course of events that may have
been set into motion decades earlier
because of the fact that the universe wishes
things to happen in a certain fashion;
however, sometimes something happens -
like meeting someone who you haven’t seen for many years,
and it is like no time has passed
because who they are
and who they have always been hasn’t changed -
and you find yourself looking at the world,
as well as at yourself and others,
and thinking to yourself that there has to be
something more to why things happen than we
could ever truly know or understand.
It is sometimes hard to believe what has happened
and how long it has been since
you were someone, somewhere, doing something,
because sometimes, somehow,
you can realise that so much has happened,
so much has changed, and so much is happening
all around us, as well as because of us and others -
which is why when you happen to be
in the same place and at the same time
as someone who you know, but someone who
you may not have seen nor heard from in a long time,
it can be such a great feeling and such a wonderful experience;
especially if you and the person you have
crossed paths with were once friends or colleagues
who share a history of memories with one another.
So much of life and time is still mysterious
to a great many of people,
because so many of the intricacies of why things happen
are not blatant and obvious unless you know
what to look for, as well as when and where;
however, I am always looking for those details
and those strands of connection that I have seen
and I feel all around me like a web -
and I am always cogent of my own perception of life
and my ability to be able to leap back in time
to where and when I used to be, and with whom I am with,
and I have had countless experiences
when I have seen someone again,
or found something again,
or I have been somewhere again,
and I have been immediately reminded
and transported back to “the good old days”.
time
My Poem “Noon”
What I did not know then,
but what I understand now,
is that everything and everyone
has their time in sun,
and then when they have reached their peak
it is time for everything and everyone
to decide in what direction they should proceed…
what I could not have known before,
but what I definitely know now,
is that there comes a time
when some things need to be left behind,
when some people need to pack up their troubles
and move on to somewhere else…
what I would not have done at any other time,
but what I have decided to do now,
is to return to the place where I was
and take my leave of the weight
that I have been forced to carry
and become a stranger even to myself…
what I am will never change,
but something has changed,
because everything always does
and because everything always must -
so I guess this is my cue to be on my way,
because now it is the time of midday,
because now I figure that
I have got nothing left to lose;
because there is no better time
than the present to take a bow,
because there is no better time
for the world to turn upside down
than at the time of Noon.
A Journey Through Poetry #44: A Matter Of Time
This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and an author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘A Matter Of Time’, from his poetry collection The Pathfinder, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
My Poem “Capture This”
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.
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.
Mark The Poet 