It’s been a long time since I wrote like this… It’s been a long time since I felt like this… It’s been a long time since I felt as if I were adrift… It’s been a long time since I made a wish… It’s been a long time since I felt as if I had nothing else to anchor me except for my family and my poetry… It’s been a long time since I looked in the mirror and I did not recognize who was looking back at me... It’s been a long time since I saw some of the muses who over the last ten years have knowingly, or unknowingly, inspired me... It’s been a long time since I experienced a true new beginning - but now that I have been left by those who I once thought I knew and who I thought knew me, I believe that I am having to walk while fully awake – where before, perhaps, I had only been sleep-walking... It’s been a long time, but I think I know who I am now… It’s been a long time, but I think I get the message clear and loud… It’s been a long time, but I think I have been touched by a light like the sunlight that eventually breaks through even the darkest of clouds… It’s been a long time, but I think I have arrived somewhere where I have acquired what I have been looking for – somewhere I can only acquaint to being some kind of poetic Lost and Found.
time
A Poem A Day #373: Time Capsule
A Poem A Day #335: Like Clockwork
My Poem “Down Time”
What do you do when you have not got anything to do? Where do you go when you have not got anywhere to go? How do you spend the time you have that has not already been allocated to doing things like chores, commitments, family, shopping, or work? If you have the opportunity to do what you want what do you choose? Something that will make time go by fast, or something that will make time go slow? People who have an incredibly busy and frenetic work day may choose to spend their time off resting their feet, switching off their mind, while listening to music, while reading books, while playing games, or while watching films or something on TV, as they engage in escaping from reality. People who spend their time in their professional life perhaps wearing a uniform, or a shirt and tie from the hours of 9 to 5, might be among those inclined to do things that take them out of their comfort zone and push their senses and their instincts to the limit... people who don't get to do any physical activity during their working week might get up on a weekend morning and immediately feel drawn to go to the gym, to go for a bike ride, or to go for a walk or a run just so they can feel the exhilaration of revitalising their body, their mind, and their spirit. For some people, when they have time to spare, they like to bond with their family while doing something that love to share, whether that is an indoor or an outdoor activity - however just as long as they are within close proximity to one another and having fun that is all that matters and even if it is raining they would rather be with who they want to be with, where they want to be, and doing what gives their life meaning... for some people the moments when they are not thinking about others are few and far between, and that is why they do not get the chance to close their eyes and think about what they might want to do for themselves - but even those people who work all hours that God sends in order to provide for their family do find brief seconds and minutes to make the most of the gift of some "down time" which always picks them back up again.
My Poem “What we leave behind”
Every day we all meet people who influence our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions, our actions, our intentions going forward - what keeps us awake during the day and what keeps us dreaming at night... every day I see and I experience a wave of connection touch me - sometimes slow, gentle and subtle, sometimes fast, hard and heavy - and sometimes I know immediately what this force that I feel means to me, but sometimes it takes some time for me to realize what has impacted upon me and what path it will ultimately lead me down. Every day we all give others gifts that might be big, that might be small, that might be useful, that might be short-lived, that might be indelible like a tattoo, that might be beautiful like a genuine smile that makes a person's face beam brighter than the brightest sunlight... every day I share what has inspired me, what has got under my skin, what has changed me, what shows itself from below the surface of my consciousness ocean like a shark's dorsal fin. Every day we all leave an impression on people, just like someone's footsteps do upon the wet sand of a beach when the tide goes in and out, and sometimes the impressions left last longer than they were expected to... every day I am grateful for certain things, I am grateful for certain people, I am grateful for certain choices that I have made, I am grateful for certain experiences, certain moments in time, and certainties of life... every day we all interact with objects that have been on a journey from the moment of their creation - like a message in a bottle that finds itself bobbing up and down and being carried far across the sea, or like a pair of shoes that take their wearer miles before it is time for them to give up the ghost. Every day I hope that I have had a positive influence and I have made positive impact upon everybody I have met - whether in person, literally, virtually, intentionally, or indirectly - and that people who might be old friends, new friends, strangers, and those who know me by my face and my name but not yet personally, are grateful and they will always be thankful for whatever it is of mine that they find which I have left behind.
A Poem A Day #180: Play Time
A Poem A Day #169: Retro
A Poem A Day #165: Future Me
A Poem A Day #164: The Falling Leaf
My Poem “The Gift of You”
Christmas is a time,
Christmas is a season,
Christmas is like a tide
that slowly rises, overwhelms,
and then recedes in the wake
of a new year descending...
Christmas is different every year
for everyone who celebrates it.
Christmas can be a different experience
depending on how old someone is -
when we are young Christmas is
a series of magical moments,
including: meeting someone dressed
in a red suit with a white beard,
making a list of things that we want,
and receiving presents of all shapes and sizes;
but, as we get older, as life goes on,
and as we lose people who have
always been special to us,
Christmas can be a time of reflection,
sadness, regret, and longing for what was
and missing those who we have lost.
Christmas can be a wonderful crossroads
of feelings and emotions, of family,
of friends, of making the most
of what you have, of accepting what are you gifted,
and of capturing the spirit of celebration
that fills every street and the rooms
of every house all around the world...
Christmas is when love can be shown
and shared...
Christmas is when people have to think
about others and truly show that they care...
Christmas is about the build up
to December the 25th -
more so, perhaps, that the day itself...
Christmas is sometimes more about
following long established traditions -
whether they are religious in nature,
consumeristic, or of keeping alive
the memory of people who to us
will live on in our mind and in our heart
and whose photos will remain
long after we take down the festive
cards we have received from their shelves.
This Christmas, like every Christmas,
we all hope for the best
and wish to be blessed...
this Christmas, like every Christmas,
we all sometimes want
what we can't have...
this Christmas, like every Christmas,
people listen to Christmas songs,
people watch Christmas movies,
and people don Christmas themed attire
that they may have been waiting all year
to wear every time they have got dressed...
every Christmas it is important
to make yourself happy,
as well as make other people happy,
because without thinking outloud
and without expressing yourself
then it wouldn't truly be Christmas -
so give yourself a present,
celebrate how you want,
and perhaps reach out a hand
to others and give them
the gift of you this Christmas.
markthepoet.me 