Author: Mark Hastings

I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse – Out Now!

Mark Hastings books, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My new book ‘I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse’ is out now and available to purchase from Amazon in hardback, in paperback, and as an ebook for Kindle: https://amzn.eu/d/belWXTy

I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse is the story of two best friends and soulmates, whose love for one another is tested to its limits, and whose one of a kind connection ultimately takes them both on a journey to somewhere beyond the horizon. However, nothing and no one can stop them both from fulfilling their life-long promise to one another: to meet each other at The Lighthouse.

Watch me talking about I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse on YouTube:

And listen to me talk about I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse on a Special Publication Day episode of my podcast, Mark The Poet – The Podcast, in which I talk about the origins of my new book, its characters, and some of the themes that run through it from beginning to end:

My Poem “The Music of The Midnight”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
I can still remember driving together,
while listening to the music of The Midnight,
down the dark highways
illuminated only by the halo of the Full Moon
and the glow of the streetlights…
I can still remember how happy I felt,
I can still remember never wanting
our time together to end;
but then, before I knew it, we arrived
at the moment that we both knew
was always going to happen:
the moment when we would kiss each other
for the last time before we
both went our separate ways…
I can still remember the tears that I cried,
I can still remember wishing that what we had
could go on and never end -
but I had known from the moment that we met
that one day you and I would no longer be
lovers, nor would we be friends,
because that is exactly what you
told me from the start
but for some reason, back then,
I chose not to listen…
I can still remember thinking
that I would never see you again -
and all these years later it turns out I was right…
I can still remember seeing your face for the last time
before you disappeared from view
and returned to the shadows -
as if you had always only been a dream of mine
that was only meant to last for a short time…
I can still remember you telling me
that we were no more,
because you had already moved on from us…
I can still remember how calm you seemed -
as if what was happening had always been
the end result of some kind
of a plan or a game
that you had orchestrated, which,
in the end, you would be the only winner of,
because, even from the start,
you knew that you could manipulate
people in such a way that for you
there would never be a cost… 
I can still remember going to bed,
but unable to sleep -
because all I could think about
was what went wrong, 
the movie that we had gone to see that evening,
the doomed love that I still felt,
as well as the sound of our beating hearts
that once beat in time with one another,
but which now beat to a completely different rhythm -
and even to this day, I can still remember how sad
and how lost I felt after we said goodbye,
and how bittersweet the song that played
as we left each other forever sounded
as it ingrained itself into my soul
and became the soundtrack
of the music of the midnight.

My Poem “Big Days”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Over the course of our lives,
each and every one of us
have days of significance
that we know will have an impact on
us
and will influence us
in ways that we may not know
until a long time after the fact:
our first day of school;
the first time we fall in love;
our first day of college or university;
the first time our heart is broken;
our first day at our first job;
the first time we lose someone close to us;
our first day behind the wheel of our first car;
the first time we find someone
we want to spend the rest of our lives with;
the first time we look into the eyes of our first child
and we see the most perfect thing
that we have ever seen -
and after every instance that we find ourselves
at a moment that feels
special and life-changing,
there are never enough words
capable of expressing just how much
they mean to us…
as we grow and as we learn who we are,
what we want to do,
and where we want to be,
we all feel as if something
or someone is whispering in our ear
and telling us that the path
that we have embarked upon
will be full twist and turns,
ups and downs -
but along the way certain pieces
of the puzzle of our lives
will fall into place and reveal a hint to the secret,
as well as an answer to the question
that everybody finds themselves asking:
“Who am I? And where am I going?”
Over the course of our lives,
as weeks turn into months,
as months turn into years,
as we transition from youth to old age,
everybody experiences the sensation of time
speeding up, flashing before our eyes,
and almost leaving us all in a daze -
because there are so many things that happen,
there are so many first times
and there are so many last times
that we all have throughout our lives
that we never forget about,
because they remind us of who we are,
where we were, and how much of our lives
we have seen change
because of a series of important,
and always necessary, “big days”.

My New Book

Mark Hastings books , , , , , , , , , , ,
I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse – September 10, 2024

My Poem “Never Say Never”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , 
Once a way has been forged,
once a passage has been traversed,
once steps have been taken
and breadcrumbs have been left,
once a feeling has been captured
and something special has been
preserved is some way -
like “lightning in a bottle” -
the world and people
are never the same again,
because the hand of God,
or the song of The Muse,
has made their intentions clear
that what has been set into motion
must happen and will happen no matter what…
once something has been created,
it’s energy cannot undone -
but what something was in the beginning can,
will, and does, change over time
until what something once was
has become something else,
even beyond the initial spark of its creator…
once you start something you know
from the get go is worth undertaking,
whatever something is meant to be
it will ultimately be -
whether that is a piece of art,
a story, a piece of furniture,
a meal, or perhaps a relationship,
if something is supposed to be
a certain way it will find a way
to influence its manifestation
and become a tangible part of the world…
once a person makes a decision to put pen to paper,
or choose to stop what they have been doing
and make a u-turn back through
where they have been before
but now with a new perspective,
then a new reality that never existed previously
always follows as a result -
like uncorking a bottle of champagne
and watching the force of the bubbles within
explode and stream like the engine of a jet…
once in a while, something unexpected happens
that turns out to be the catalyst
that causes the first of many pulses of light,
heat, inspiration, and intensity
that will only grow brighter, hotter,
bigger, and more overwhelming
the more that they are allowed to grow
beyond the place from which the seed
of what they were was planted,
before whatever something
becomes what it is fated to be…
once you start to think you will never do
what you used to do,
once you start to say that you will never
see someone ever again,
once you start to believe that something
is gone and unable to return to how it used to be,
once you start to wonder whether
you have really seen, heard, tasted,
and felt everything that you ever could,
the one that has one hand
on the steering wheel of the universe
and one foot hovering over both
the break and the accelerator
that dictates the velocity of
what is going to happen and when
will do what they do
and remind us all in big ways and in small ways
why it is always dangerous to
“never say never”.

My Poem “Unmasked”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , 
I have always tried to maintain a line
between who I am on the outside
and who I am on the inside -
who I am and how most people see me as,
and who I am and how I am when I am
doing what I know I am meant to do…
most of the time, I try to not share too much
about what makes me who I am -
but I always fail, because when I write
I always spill my heart upon whatever page
or screen I am expressing myself upon,
and who I am is always evident within
the words that I use as well how and when I use them…
in daily life, I try not to draw too much attention to myself;
however, when my mask of perception falls -
the one I wear to disguise the face of someone
who sees and hears inspiration
in every interaction that I have with someone -
that is when I am in my element
and accessing every ounce of insight,
instinct, and intuition that I have,
and when I am when and where I need to be
what follows is a fountain ejection
of my creation and poetry.

Most people who see me
do not see me for who I am,
nor for what I can do,
because most people invariably
only see what they want to see
and do not expect to see anything more -
however, when it comes to me,
there is always more to be seen…
most people think they know
everything about people
because they may see them every day -
but time and time again people
have proven just how much
they can surprise others -
in both good ways and in bad ways -
and show sides of them
that rarely get an opportunity to be set free.

I am a poet. I am a writer.
I am an author. I am a storyteller.
But I am also someone who has a job,
I am someone with coworkers,
I am someone with friends,
I am someone with a family,
and though a lot of people know me
not everybody knows everything about me -
which is why when someone
who I know, and who knows me,
finds out something about me
that I know some people know,
but not everybody,
and I am caught off-guard,
I have to switch off whatever
barrier I have in place,
I have open up the curtains
that I use to keep the light within me
from spilling out and shining
constantly upon the world,
and I have to speak in a certain way
so that I can talk about things
that are personal and near and dear to me:
books, stories, inspiration, muses, poetry…
most people are surprised
when they find out about my “secret identity”,
which these days is not so secret…
the first question that most people ask me
is “do you make any money” -
which always makes me laugh
because it always reveals to me
what motivates most people
and just how many people
do not and could not understand
why I am what I am and why I do what I do,
but it’s not their fault.

From the moment that I was inspired
to write my first poem,
I knew that I was awakening something
within me that had always been there
but had been waiting for the right
spark of inspiration to renew it
and instil it with eternal life…
from the moment that I started sharing
my love, my heart, my creativity,
my passion for writing with others,
I knew that I was taking a risk
that someone people might not like,
nor understand, what they read
and what I was attempting to convey -
but I like to think that when I write something
it can read and easily understood by anybody;
however if someone knows me personally
then when they read what I have written
they will be able to recognise me within my words
without having to be asked…
from the moment that I published my first book
and people who didn’t know I was a writer
read what I had written and held
within their hands what I had created,
I had no idea that so many people
would react to the revelation of who
and what I was and what I am so viscerally
and then be able to see me in such a different light…
from the moment that I heard someone describe me
as “The Poet” I definitely knew that I had always been,
and I would always be what I am -
but nobody can ever tell how they are going to react
when someone is finally revealed to be
who they are and who they have always been,
because every time it happens
there are always many reasons
for why people’s true identities are exposed
and why they are ultimately unmasked.



My Poem “Point of No Return”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Sometimes looking for inspiration
and trying to hear the voice
of the muse of poetry
is like attempting to find
the right frequency on a radio -
sometimes it comes through clear and distinctly,
sometimes you think you have got it
but then you lose it again,
and sometimes you find something
you never expected to find:
a melody, a song, a sound
that feels as if it were
waiting to be found
so that it could be captured and shared…
sometimes trying to make something
out of nothing can feel hard
when you cannot see anything
but a series of strewn components -
but when you reach a certain point
when you can see and decipher
signs that point towards
how seemingly random things
can all fit together like the pieces of a puzzle,
then you are able to see
why some things are not meant to be
what they are supposed to be
until they are ready to rise
like a loaf of bread.

Everyone was once a combination
of many different fragments -
subatomically, genetically, spiritually -
and then, for some reason,
we all returned and became
who and what we have all been destined to be
since the moment of our birth…
the sun, the moon, the dark matter
that binds the galaxies of the universe together,
were all once something else entirely -
not to mention our home world
that we owe our existence to:
the paradise that is planet Earth…
so much more has happened
over the course of the cosmos
than could ever be known, nor quantified -
including the dawn and the sunset
of countless lights that were once
beacons of hope and life
for now long-gone civilisations…
we can only remember, capture,
and preserve so much of what was
for the benefit of future generations.

Even before the first human began
measuring, recording,
and predicting the passage of time,
everything in existence has been
aware that there is a cosmic clock
that can only go in one direction,
and not in reverse -
which is essential to know
for our very survival…
even those who live
in a perpetual state of darkness
somehow can always know
when it is day and when it is night,
because something inside of us can always tell us what time it is -
whether we are basking in sunlight
or shielding underneath a shadow…
our biological senses
are all seemingly individual,
but sometimes some people
have a greater instinct and insight
into what it happening around them,
around others, and in other states of being
than lie beyond the veil of perception…
nobody lives the life they live
without having a clue or an idea
to hold on to that helps them
make sense out of the sometimes
chaotic world that greets them
when they attempt to connect
to what is going on, what people are doing,
what people are trying to say,
and what version of reality is being shared
on the constantly changing, evolving,
and sometimes repeating
multi-media landscape that humanity
has given birth to, feeds, sustains,
and will one day see transcend
and reach a point of no return
and perhaps beyond anyone’s ability stop.

My Poem “Taurus”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
I have been described
as being "intense",
perhaps too "intense" for some -
however, accounting for the fact
that I am a Taurus,
and I have not changed that much,
I don't know why the fact that
I am the way that I have always been
is as much of a surprise
for some than for others;
but I just think that some people
only like intensity, energy,
passion, danger,
when it suits them -
but then they always ultimately recede back
to the safety of their version of "normality".

I do not apologize for being
someone who likes the thrill
of jumping into the unknown...
I do not expect everybody
to always understand me...
I do not feel a need to explain
why I feel as if I needed to do
what felt like the right thing
to do at a particular time;
however, I recognize that my actions
do not always conform
to what some might believe
is the right way to do something -
because no one else
has lived my life but me,
no one else has been inspired
like I have been,
no one has journeyed alone
to where I have been
confident in the knowledge
that wherever I always find myself
is where I have always been meant to be;
no one has secrets like mine -
things that are hidden away
for safe-keeping, but never forgotten.

There is always something that captures
our attention and our imagination -
something always draws us to it
like the light and the heat of a flame...
there is always someone
who we think about all the time
but who will always remain
a shadow in a mirror
that can never break free
of their confinement...
there is always something that we find
but then lose soon after -
like one day remembering
who someone is
but then the next unable
to put a face to a name...
there is always someone
that we are unable to deny our love for,
because they were there
when we needed someone
to remind us that things
in life sometimes come
and then go faster than a trend.

I have always gone to the farthest edge...
I have always taken something
all the way to its limits...
I have always had this instinct to keep things -
from the big to the small -
because we do not always know
what something or someone
is worth to us until we find
ourselves without them...
I have always met people
who have given me gifts -
sometimes gifts they are unaware
they are giving,
including: being there for me,
and telling me that they found
a reason to smile
because of something that I did.

I have never asked for a lot -
not even when I was a child
at Christmas, or for my birthday -
because all that I have ever
truly wanted or needed
was love and the truth;
however, time and time again,
it has taken a long time for
the hidden message and meaning
of something that happened
to be fully revealed,
after my interest in something
or someone was first peaked...
I have always wanted love -
but as I have gotten older
I have discovered that what we call "love"
is sometimes something
completely different,
but disguised as "Love";
however, I still maintain that
the love I have known
meant something at the time
I believed I felt it.

I have never minded someone
having a different opinion
on something than me -
but when I hear someone
say something that I know
is not true I do find it hard
to stay quiet and not speak...
I have always found the best way to tell whether someone's intentions are honest
and selfless is always to look into their eyes
and attempt to read their thoughts -
however, sometimes what I have found
while gazing into the eyes of those people who say one thing but then do the complete opposite,
makes me feel as if I am not as good
of a judge of character
as I would like to believe that I am;
but no matter what happens,
and no matter what has happened,
no one will ever be able to change me -
because, for better or for worse,
I am stubborn and capable
of saying and doing what others
may fear to say and do,
because I do not have any fear
of what is the "right" way,
nor what is the "wrong" way,
to live my life and to be,
and which is why I believe
I am the perfect personification
of my horoscope star sign “The Bull”.

My Poem ‘Relearn’

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
People do not meet by chance...
people do not find themselves
somewhere without a reason...
people do not attend a party
unless they want to dance...
people do not always know
why something is important
until they are ready to see
what it is and what it means
in the light of the right season.

We all know what it feels like
when we find ourselves
at the right place and at the right time...
we all know how it feels
to be surrounded by people
who seem to know us
just as much as we seem to know them...
we all know what it means
to be gifted something by someone
who just wanted to be kind...
we all know how things were
when life seemed so much more
simpler -
but as we all get older,
we all discover that it is impossible
to hold on to everything, to everyone,
to every moment and memory,
without sometimes
losing our grasp on what anchors
and defines the reality of our present.

Things repeat because they are supposed to...
people return because they are meant to...
some ideas can be revived
easier than others
because they are secretly a part
of the underlying thinking
and intentions of the conscious universe...
some things, some people,
some actions, some experiences
are remembered better than others,
because over time they have
become vital lessons
that every generation needs
to relearn.

My Poem “Sleeping Dragon”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Most of the time,
they are relatively calm...
most of the time,
they look around at the world, and -
though they see much that concerns them -
they are always quietly confident
and optimistic that one day humanity will collectively
figure out many of it's problems
and live in peace with one another...
most of the time,
they are accepting of
that which they cannot change -
mostly their memories
of past events that feel
like they came and went
as fast as the winds of a storm...
most of the time,
they are like a bird gliding over
the world below them;
however, there are times
when they see something,
when they hear something,
when they feel something,
when someone makes them feel enraged -
that is when they feel and know
that something inside of them
has been awoken and is burning
within them like a fire.

It doesn't happen that often,
but whenever someone has
done something to them -
something hurtful,
something selfish,
something deplorable -
that is when a part of them
rises like a phoenix
and shows itself to all...
it only happens if and when
they feel unable to control
the spirit within them
as it unfurls its wings,
starts to show its teeth,
and exhales their flames
in the form of words
that had been previously been
locked away and under their control.

People are seldom able
to know the consequences
of their actions,
nor how their words may
trigger the thoughts of someone
who only wanted to know
the truth of something
rather than a continuous
stream of lies and deceit...
everybody wants to live in a state
of peace, love, and serenity
when there is no longer
wars to be waged,
nor fights to be fought -
when everyone can understand
one another and get along.

No one wants to live
in a constant state of battle
with people who they may disagree with,
but who they may never really meet...
everybody wants to be able to
do what they want to do,
and be with whom they want to be with;
however, the events of life
never truly unfold
how we want them to -
which is why there are times
when even the most patient of people
find themselves having to show
a side of them that might seem
out of character -
and that is what, why, how,
when, and where someone
with the right mixture of passion,
intensity, and fire within them
can show that who they are
most of the time
is akin to a ticking time-bomb,
or as they like to be called
a "sleeping dragon".