As one day becomes another...
as one year ends and another begins...
as time resets with an explosion of light and colour...
as people simultaneously celebrate
what has come before
and hope for what awaits,
nobody can truly know how
they reached the point of crossroads
that they find themselves at,
nor where the path
in front of them will take them;
however, each of us can rest assured
that the past influences the present,
just as the present dictates the future,
and all of our overlapping
and interwoven interactions
have a resonance that rings out
beyond the waves that are generated
at a moment of creation,
at an explosion rebirth,
at an instance of regeneration,
at a point when a threshold
is traversed,
and, as a result, a door
to a new world opens...
as we all continue to walk
where we have walked before,
as we all continue to share eye contact
with those whom we regularly see,
as we all continue to speak
and hopefully be heard,
we all hope that the first time
will not be the last time,
and that no matter what we have done
and how much time
we have left on Earth,
it goes without saying
that there is always more
for each and every one of us
to reach for, experience, and explore -
because the true journey has no end.
transition
A Poem A Day #560: Transitional
A Poem A Day #429: Equinox
My Poem “Transitional”
Life is always transitioning from one state of being to another - but the act and the art of change is no more apparent, prominent, invigorating, and awe-inspiring than at the time of the year of when Spring becomes Autumn when the leaves of the trees change colour and then ultimately let go and fall... people are always thinking, listening, feeling, and looking for new things, or familiar things, to excite or reignite their senses - and there is no time like the present when anybody can seemingly do anything, when anyone can look how they want, when anyone can be whoever and whatever they want to be... places are always having new visitors to them, and there are always those people who return to a place time after time - because a certain place has something about it that is special, magical, and gets under a person's skin deeper than a needle. In my experience life is full of poetry... in my experience people are more pliable than they think they are... in my experience every place has a story that speaks volumes and can be heard if you want to hear what it has to say... in my experience life experience is what gives us all the gift of indistinguishable individuality... in my experience some people can only show their best side when everything around them is dark and they can shine like the brightest of stars... in my experience we can all find ourselves somewhere and with someone that can influence us that we can in turn have an influence on the more that we are exposed to them - especially if we are with someone somewhere almost every day. Life does not always give everybody a choice as to whether they want to change or not - because sometimes some things must happen, whether we want them to happen or not... life has moving pieces and things that must repeat and work in synchronicity with one another like the cogs, gears, and the settings of a clock... people like things that reoccur because it gives them something to look forward to - that is why people like traditions... life is about things that are built to last, as well as about things that happen, are captured, and then are gone again in a snap! Life and people will always be a work in progress and always in the process of constant transition.
My Poem “The Crow”
When I walked out of my house this morning I immediately found myself staring into the dark eyes of a crow - it was as if the crow knew something about me and about what was going to happen to me that I did not know... I stared at the crow, as they stared back at me, and then when I started walking towards them they let me get perhaps two feet before they decided to flap their wings and take flight as quietly, as quickly, and as effortlessly as could be... I didn't think anything else of the crow until just now, as a matter of fact, as I wonder how long it will take before I once again feel whole again, and just like the old me; however, I know that it is too late for some things and that there are some things that will forever remain in the past... we are all a product of the choices that we have made and the road that we walk upon that is built upon our hopes, our dreams, as well as our fears and our actions that we can't take back... when I woke up this morning I knew that I had something waiting for me - something that I knew would leave a scar upon me that only I will wear and that only I would know... when I woke up this morning I was given a message meant only for me that when I think about it now was as clear as clear could be - and the messenger of this message was who was waiting for me outside my house this morning: none other than the black bird that is smarter than you could know, and symbolically considered to be the herald of change, transition, transformation and new beginnings that is The Crow.
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 “Equinox”
Life feels like we have truly arrived
at a moment between light and dark…
life feels like we are transitioning
between two states of being…
after all that has happened this year,
after we have all sacrificed
and after how far we have all come,
life feels as if it is in a state of resistance –
because humanity feels like it is
stuck in a game of tug of war with itself
and with a nemesis they cannot see clearly.
Life in some shapes and places is continuing
regardless of everything else –
as they always have done –
while some individuals fear that
they have reached a point of no return
and everything that happens next
with be irrevocable, and the pain
that will be felt will cut deep.
Life on planet Earth has been shook
profoundly by what has occurred this year…
life will never again be the same as it was…
life is subjective and based upon
the personal perspective of an individual
at a specific here and a specific now.
Life has been though dark times before;
however, after every era of profound change,
nature teaches all things that they need
to find a way to adapt to the circumstances
and the surroundings that they find
themselves in and to do their best
to find a balance that they may have lost –
and there is no better time to be
a shining example of phenomenal
strength and fortitude than right now,
at this moment of equinox.
My Poem “Turnaround”
There are times when
there is a prolonged period
of inactivity, of inability,
of inaction, of hibernation
when some animals and some people
experience a status of stasis –
when life and time regresses
and even slows down to some degree;
however, for every time of hibernation
and rehabilitation there must come
a moment when there is a physical,
a psychological, and an instinctual
reawakening that initially may only
be a transitional period
between darkness and light,
between conservation and drive –
and when such a long season
of staying inside comes to an end
there can be momentary thoughts
and feelings of trepidation,
but no matter what anybody or anything
does in life there are sometimes
risks that need to be taken
to turn a world from upside down to
right side up and when you have to
naturally start looking forwards
instead of backwards –
especially when you want to see everything that may have changed
in the interim of a certain confinement
slowly but surely resume and restart,
so that the future of everything and everyone who you know has recently
been through so much will over time
restore and turn themselves around.
My Poem “The Virtual/Reality”
There used to be a clear
and present distinction
between the world of the real
and the reality of the virtual…
People used to be able to see
the truth of something
through the veil of the illusionary –
however, then illusionists became
better at presenting their craft
and more knowledgeable
about what motivated
the thoughts of a person’s mind
and what increased the beats
of a person’s heart,
and then it began to become
increasingly more harder
to see through the mirror
of reality that surrounds
everybody which constantly
reflects both the good and the bad
that a person observes about themselves
when they look at their own reflection.
The more that technology has advanced
the more elaborate illusions –
in all their many forms –
have become, and with every passing day
reality and fantasy have become
increasingly more indistinguishable
from one another…
in this day and age,
someone can put on a virtual reality headset,
they can open up an internet web browser,
and they can sign up to becoming
a participant and a player in a game –
however, without fully reading
the full extent of the terms
and the conditions by which
they may be bound to.
When a baby is born into this life
they are always unprepared
for what world awaits them…
when every child is growing up
they are always surrounded
by an abundance of messages,
pressures, and beacons of distraction
that are constantly interacting with,
and trying to influence,
their instincts, their choices,
and the actions that they will commit to…
when someone is transitioning
from being a beginner into becoming
a novice who knows the ropes
and all the rules of the world
and the society that they are tethered to
and which need to be adhered to,
while they are trying to figure out
who they want to be and what they want to do,
everybody is pulled in multiple directions,
by multiple people –
and it can take a long time before
someone realizes that the one person
who will feel the aftermath and the burden
of everything that they do is them,
and the greatest gift that someone
can possess is the ability
to be able to forgive themselves
and accept that they are a well-meaning,
maelstrom of both reason
and contradiction, human being, an avatar,
who, like everybody else,
does not have an accurate roadmap
telling them what to do
and when to do it.
At the heart of the complex is the simple,
and at the heart of the simple
is the complex…
in this day and age, everybody lives,
breathes, thinks, dreams, and feels
within a world tailored to their own
wants, needs, likes, and dislikes –
whether they know it or not –
that is as superficial
but as hard to break free of as
a machine-built matrix…
when it comes to choosing
which path to take, which reality is best,
everybody has to weigh up
with their heart, within their mind,
within their soul, what matters
the most to them: freedom? Or confinement?
knowledge? Or ignorance?
Fakery? Or the power of discovering
your true identity,
and seeing the code of interconnectivity
and learning to find the balance
needed to survive within,
and transition seamlessly
between, the ever changing
worlds of the virtual and the real.
Mark The Poet 