Hopes, Dreams and Poetry in Between

My happiest feelings reside in my heart. It tells me daily: ‘Life is beautiful, trust it and it will display you its beauty.’ By doing so, I created my rhymes. I wish to share them. They started in Bosnia and are currently taking a place in Auckland, New Zealand. I truly enjoy its beauty and its sea breeze that I get to feel during my long walks. That is when I write the best, when I feel the breeze. It inspires me the most.Why do I write? To enrich the readers’ lives, remind them to embrace life and ‘the journey on earth’, to live each day the best they can. Who can guarantee us ‘tomorrow’?Go for a daily walk, even for just five minutes. You never know what you might see, who you may run into or what sort of a beauty nature might reveal to you…

Dissection of Life Poetry

A collection of poetry covering an immense variety of subjects that can be enjoyed by a vast array of people. These are poems of depth such as a bottomless well, written from life's experiences that only an ancient soul could survive to tell. They tell of love, birth, death, fear, recovery, overcoming addiction and much more. Should you feel trapped or free, a poem for you there is, I guarantee.

Zattere Agli Incurabili

This is a new kind of poem: a cross between a haiku and a limerick. Think too hard about each one and you may wish you hadn’t. Pass merrily over them and you might have a good laugh or feel slightly sick.

Some are specific to today’s interesting times. Others delve into eternal unpleasantness. Or seek to answer the unanswerable.

Menacing, fun, obscure or chilling – read them in any order. It’s your choice.

Try your hand at writing one and you might find it difficult without a lifetime addiction to doggerel verse.

You Can't Beat a Good Laugh

When a man opens the car door for his wife, it’s either a new wife or a new car.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the funniest jokes and one-liners ever told.

After reading some of these hilarious jokes you will realise that you can’t beat a good laugh.

You Are Not Alone

A collection of honest, vulnerable poems written from the perspective of a heart-broken nurse. Through faith, and by taking one day at a time, she learns to overcome her struggle with mental health and faith, and to finally accept that it’s okay to not be okay. Through a mixture of written poetry, hand-illustrated artwork and photography, You Are Not Alone examines experiences and understandings of struggles with mental health from multiple angles and aesthetic mediums, drawing to the surface the rich emotional details of our inner lives.

By turns, a riveting exploration of mental health, the importance of seeking help, guidance and reassurance, and a profound reflection on the challenges of faith in God through meditations on scripture and prayer, these poems will help readers to better understand their own struggles and to find a path to happiness and to God.

Words From The Wild

“Dedication to conservation is vital for our species to survive and we thank Mark for his contribution via his rare talent in poetry. Part of our awareness in ‘Demand Reduction’ campaigns is: visual art, theatre, music and dance, with words and motions displayed in fitting performances. In this case the ‘Words’ speak for themselves and hopefully will stir readers of this book into action.” Grant Fowlds, Conservationist, Author, Amakhala Founder
Mark Graham, the author of Words from the Wild, has written poetry in support of charities both in the UK and South Africa. This, his second book, is written in support of the Amakhala Foundation which provides conservation education to communities around the Amakhala Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, SA. Many of the poems are humorous; all, it is hoped, are educational. The book is intended to act as a vehicle to raise awareness of the plight of South African wildlife and wildlife in general.

Words for the Restless

Anxiety is all too often a silent battle and epidemic. It’s a journey…with an end. If you’re reading this as an anxiety sufferer, you will get there. The feelings can be a melting pot of despair, panic, paranoia, exhaustion, confusion, anger, failure and loneliness, but the best thing you will ever do is ask for help. Many, many people have the same thoughts and feelings, so you are definitely not alone.
In this first volume of Words for the Restless, Claire S. Ellis shares an inspiring, poignant and comforting collection of quotes and poetry stemming from her own journey with anxiety.
“One of the core antidotes is to always do something you love, and writing this collection gave me that outlet. Having the courage to share these words with the outside world has been a challenge, but knowing they can touch and move others fills me with purpose and joy. This is for you and me, but please spread far and wide. Remember, you really are amazing.”

— Claire S. Ellis

Woman of Tides

Woman of Tides is a book to be enjoyed and savoured. It is thoughtful, evocative, immersive and illuminating. The reader can enter its world at any page and the pieces will resonate as they take the reader through rich emotional and intellectual terrain.

What They Don't Tell You about Being a Mum

Becoming a parent for the first time is exciting, joyous, scary and a huge step into the unknown. First-time mums can find a lot of official advice, but here is a new mum sharing her experiences of the reality in a touching and amusing way through her entertaining and honest poetry.
Following the success of the author’s Facebook page ‘What they don’t tell you about being a Mum’, to which Jayne still uploads a poem most days, here is a selection of the poems from the first year of her baby’s life.
Her message to mums is clear: Nothing prepares you for becoming a parent, it’s OK not to be OK and, most importantly, we are all in this together. Enjoy.

Weirdo Tales for the Littlie Mind

dear reader,

i must warn you that the following may entice you to a collection of stories that could leave you feeling curious and even a little odd. in these pages you will meet the part of me that is still a littlie, who often played alone finding solace in the sanctuary of imagination, yet struggled with the desire for a friend. don’t be fooled by the seemingly ordinary plot lines, there is more to these stories than meets the eye. within these pages you will find contentious topics that challenge societal norms, or stories that encourage children to think critically and form their own opinions, all in the hope to provide a neo-pedagogy-of-mutual-child-adult-parenting-experience. 

while these stories are perfect for littlies who may be eager to explore the weird world of the self, this children’s book is for all.

and while the tales may seem strange, they are full of magic, dreamy adventures of self-discovery and journeys of growth, hope and renewal. you’ll learn the joys of decluttering the mind from dull forgettable thoughts. you’ll witness the magic of watching something grow and thrive. you may learn the lesson that true comfort can come in the simplest of forms. the endless, arduous journey to search for true friendship is matched by the raw emotional struggles of our weird and wondrous mind. 

so if you are brave enough to venture into the world of the weirdo tarot, i invite you to turn the pages and explore the mysterious and peculiar, weirdo tales for the littlie mind.

yours weirdly,

the weirdo tarot

(be weird it’s normal)

Wavelengths

‘Wavelengths' is an exploration of light, colour and form through the creation of transfigured natural images.

The result is a series of multi-layered image-scapes exploring the spectrum of visible wavelengths and my fascination with refraction and the interaction of light and glass, taking the images through the colours of the rainbow.  

These images are linked to a selection of poetry that provides a sidelight on the images.

One does not illustrate the other, but gives a different departure point for interpretation.

The poetry is chosen to have some relevance to the facing image  -  in a variety of styles, from 18th century to modern poets, and from well-known favourites to unknown poems.

Waking Up to Beauty

Poems are small individual vignettes. Each one telling a story and painting a picture.
Poetry is a special art form. People from all walks of life can express themselves and their thoughts through poetry.
Sometimes a memory triggers an emotion: if you like to write poetry, then there is no better way to express a moment in time than to write the words that give a poem life.
Poetry can be funny, it can be serious, it can be about love, it can be about sorrow. Poems can be about so much: about the sea, about rivers, about snow, and the warm glow in the fireplace, at home, in the deep mid-winter.
Poetry lets us feel the emotion and view the scene in our own minds, through the vision of the poet. Read on…