A brand new year, and with it, horizons come into view, glittering with new possibility. The magical and relentless source of energy that surfaces in waves, subliminally vibrates, urging to push forward, reach for the stars. No future is certain, yet our own decisions and responses guide our fate.
A few hours in 2023 feels different. Already.
Farewell to 2022. Consolidation, completion, and survival. Labouring up an invisible stair.
2023 tantalises with inner motivation and meaning, the embrace of inner light.
For those who know me, they recognise I need little invitation to think or dream outside of the accepted norms, yet I am first to acknowledge responsibility and limitation, and the human condition of being worn down by a sense of powerlessness – the influences, systems, and events that can ambitiously dent as well as gift progress in dreams and aspirations. Recognising we alone grant passage to the inner voice which creates mental barriers against ourselves.
I met many more wonderful and inspiring new people this year at various events in 2022. The International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (IEEC) in Swansea last autumn, as example, was an event that attracted entrepreneurial spirits near and far. Digesting my appeal to a keynote speaker about the urgent need for disruption to archaic aspects of our higher education system, Bonnie Hacking, University of St. Andrews, whispered words of resonance in my ear. From Welsh poet and musician Gavin Mart’s ‘The Dream Police’.
The poem in full, arrived forthwith, as promised, in my inbox…
The Dream Police by Gavin Mart
The Dream Police are coming for you
You’ve been dreaming, haven’t you?
They’re coming
They’re coming
They’re coming with men
They’re coming to keep you from dreaming again
The Dream Police are hunting you down
You’ve been planning to leave this town
They’re coming
They’re coming
They’re coming with signs
They’re coming to tell you to stay in the lines
The Dream Police are laying the law
You’ve been saying that you think there’s more
They’re coming
They’re coming
They’re coming with tools
They’re coming to teach to you to follow the rules
The Dream Police are all in your head
You’ve dreamed them with words sad people said
They’re coming
They’re coming
They’re coming but wait
They all disappear just as soon as you wake
Poems, with their multiple layers of meaning, symbolism and imagery evoke different emotions, thoughts, interpretations, and connections. I was at once, unblinded by and empowered by Gavin’s tense stanzas; vocatively and metaphorically unveiling the inner and external forces that shape our dreams and aspirations.
The poem floated fresh to mind on the eve of this new dawn, having lain, restless, fluttering in my mind for weeks. Something experienced, an emotional response, a creative inspiration. Gavin’s words, carried by Bonnie, – honest, meaningful, and packed with courage and strength to act.
Thank you to Gavin for kind permission to share his poem, and to Bonnie, for her support and inspiration.
Felicity x
Happy New Year
Gavin Mart is a pioneering musician and artist from North Wales, UK – with over 20 years experience as a session musician, writer and performer.
Scooping the UK Events Award for Positive Impact in 2016, his artistic work in the margins of society have unearthed treasures deep within the communities he has engaged with. Access to Gavin Mart’s wider collection of poems can be found at:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gavinmart/the-dream-stealer
The collection of four books of poetry and associated photographs is a body of work formed over lockdown and into 2022.
Girl, blue background Photo by Илья Мельниченко on Unsplash
Emergent Thinkers.com 