My Poem “The Merry Go Around”

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

Enlivened by the bright blue sky,
enlightened by the sublime sunshine,
entertained by the festive music filling the air,
entranced by the revolutions
of the red and gold merry-go-round,
as I stand with a cup of
hot chocolate in my hand,
as the world around me
feels like I am underneath a clear dome –
like that of an enclosed globe
just waiting to be turned upside down
so that there can be a a flurry of snow –
everything feels like it should be
at this time of the year,
everybody appear to be in good spirits
and enjoying the gift of the season’s greetings,
and there is a palpable calmness
as if everybody is catching their breath…
it is a wonderful sight to see
both adults and children look up
in wonder at the illuminated decorations
and the gleaming baubles
of the many Christmas trees
and to see people young and old
smile for what might have been
the first time in a long time,
because this year has been filled
with so much uncertainty…
there are echoes of the voices
of the lost to be heard,
there are welcome flashes
of hopefulness to be found…
there are whispers of a cure
for what shadows the present
coming within the near future,
as the sounds of hope ring out
in the form of Christmas bells
that inspire meaningful moments
of merriment as people ride
and as people are drawn to
the magical sight of a spinning
Christmas Merry-go-around.

My Poem “The Kite Flyer”

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

Over time we learn more about the world,
we learn more about ourselves,
and more about how the biology,
the chemistry, and the physics
of the universe actually works –
by asking questions, by seeking connections,
by looking at our own reflection,
by making mistakes, by taking missteps,
by “going off the reservation”,
by doing things, by choosing things,
and by believing in things
beyond what we know that we need to grow,
but which can innitially seem
as ephemeral and as fleeting as snow,
and then slowly but surely
we build up within us memories,
experiences, recollections, and dreams
of a person, of a place, of a time
that can resonate like a beacon to guide us
and potentially save us in instances of twilight,
that we must hold on to and marvel at
like the stars but never let go of –
like a kite twisting and turning
against a blue sky on a day
when the force of the energy all around us
feels like it could easily
lift us off of the ground.

My Poem “The Great Outdoors”

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

8:17 AM was when the power went out,
and it was a minute later –
at exactly 8:18 AM –
that I heard the call, the alarm:
this distinct and loud voice
beckoning me to put on my walking boots
and take a look around at the wonders
of life and nature to be found
on any given morning when you
just choose to let go
of whatever is holding you back –
and when you have on your doorstep
a snapshot of life that is as unparalleled and unbounded
as that of the Centre of England
you simply have got to put one foot
in front of the other and explore
the Great Outdoors.


My Poem “We Have It All”

Mark Hastings life, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am different…
you are different…
everybody is different –
and yet we are all the same,
which I think is absolutely amazing!
I am on a different path,
you are in a different lane –
and yet so many people
find themselves at the same
moment of crossroads
when and where there is a vital
transference of knowledge and energy,
which can feel electrifying!
I am experiencing what I see
and what I feel around me personally,
you are interpreting everything
like only you can –
and yet when there is the discovery
of a breakthrough of life-changing proportions
people from all around the world
can gather together and herald
the arrival of yet another game-changer
in how we all live our lives.

I have never stopped being
in awe of the power and the poetry
of the universe that we can see
and measure with our own eyes
and with some of the instruments
that we have invented;
however, I know that all the secrets of existence
may never be known –
which is fine by me,
because there is more to be gained
by investigating the source of a riddle
than the eventual reveal of a mystery.

I understand the draw to explore…
I agree that we need to colonize
other worlds in order to know
more about the diversity of life
throughout the universe of galaxies…
I do not dispute that there are
other planets with other civilizations
living and thriving on them…
I would gladly take a ticket to ride
upon a rocket into orbit
or aboard a starship at warp-speed
to another part of the Milky Way galaxy –
but I do think that we all need to
look around at this world
that we live upon once in a while,
our home, and realize that right now
this is all that we have, this is who we are,
and if we could all just choose
to stop making so much of our
societies revolve around
corruption and greed
then everybody could have it all
because here on Earth
we have everything that
we could possibly need.

Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Mark Hastings Blog, life, me , , , , , ,

My Poem “The Poetry of Life”

Mark Hastings me, Poetry , , , , , , ,

Let the wind blow…
let the raindrops fall…
let the record show
and let it be known by all
that I love every moment
of every season of this wonderful
planet that we should all
worship and adore…
let the sun shine…
let the rainbows arc across the sky…
let the green ivy leaves
be graced by their seasonal red berries…
let new mandalas of colour
be created by fallen droplets
of oil upon the wet roads…
let people venture far and wide –
through forests and trees
and through dark clouds
to find out what is on the other side…
let things be what they are supposed to be…
let people do what comes naturally…
let the dreamers dream…
let the artists create…
let the waters of discontent evaporate…
let the children play…
let nature do what it does unapologetically:
breathe in and breathe out the poetry of life.

My Poem “Everything means something”

Mark Hastings me, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , ,

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 “Keep the faith”

Mark Hastings life, me, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where once there was many
now there are few…
where once there was darkness
now there is the promise
of something hopeful and brand new…
where once there was hate and fear
now there is the light of love
to usher in a new day of healing…
where once there was tyranny
now there is the arrival
of why it is always important
to never stop believing…
where once there was division
now there is a message of unity
for people who want peace and prosperity
to spread across the world
and out amongst the stars…
where once there were daily attacks
now the suvivors who did not
give up continue to walk tall
and seek to mend those who
now wear deeply embedded battle-scars..
where once there was lies
now there is truth to be found
in a myriad of ways…
where once there was indecision
now there is a symbol and an example
of why it is important
to always keep the faith.

My Poem “The G.O.A.T.”

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who, what, where, when, and why
something or someone
is considered by us to be
the “Greatest Of All Time”
is not always easy to define –
because the reasons that
we hold something or someone
in such high regard
sometimes depends upon
what memories we have
in connection to them.

The “Greatest Artist of All Time”,
for example, might be
considered as such because –
just like from a magician
with a magic wand –
magic is always produced
every moment that they touch
the blank canvas in front of them
with a paint brush in their hand.

The “Greatest Musician of All Time”
you may consider to be that one
instrumentalist who from the moment
that you hear them start playing
their music you feel as if
they are communicating
directly to you, while making
your heart feel like it is beating
in time with a drum-like rhythm.

The Greatest Actor; the Great Performer;
the Greatest Driver; the Greatest Writer –
whomever it is who you believe
is the “Greatest of the Great”
could be someone who you know,
or they could be someone who
you may have only seen once
but who from the instant that you saw them
you were immediately struck
by their seemingly effortless talent
and you were convinced that they
must be the “Greatest of All Time”.

My Poem “Getting Ahead of Myself”

Mark Hastings films, me, Podcast, Poetry, TV , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As a child, I always looked to the future…
as a child, when I imagined what would be,
I was always sure that things would turn out
like they were predicted to
in films and in television shows
that I watched which depicted
a world to come when anything
and everything was possible:
including vacations on the Moon,
underwater cities, and, of course, time-travel.

As a child, I was always hopeful
of a bright and inspirational tomorrow –
because looking immediately
for the positive of any situation
for me has always been in my nature…
as a child, I was like Luke Skywalker,
in the Star Wars movies:
always looking to the horizon
and always believing that anybody –
even someone as seemingly
bad as Darth Vader could be
redeemed and returned
from the dark side to the light.

As a child, fantasy worlds
drew me to them, because
what I saw and who I saw
had this magic to them
that had aspects to them
that were incredibly enthralling –
including: quests, adventures,
and other realities that seemed
wonderfully exciting.

As a child, real life was somewhere
where I interacted with my family,
where I hung out with my friends,
where I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
and where there wasn’t such things
as flying cars, teleporters,
jet-packs, and robots who
looked as human as anybody I knew –
but I knew that one day all those
things that the television showed me
would come true one day.

As an adult, when I look around
at the world of the present –
while simultaneously reflecting
back upon the past and at what I used
to believe would be a reality
when I was all grown-up –
there are times when I genuinely
have to ask myself,
in the words of Freddie Mercury:
“Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy?”

As I have grown older
and as I have seen and experienced
even more of the world,
my instant impulse to imagine
possibilities before they happen
is still my immediate instinct –
and though there have indeed
been times in my life when my belief
that the world is innately hopeful
and optimistic has been tested,
I will never be convinced by
anything or by anybody
to stop reaching for that which
seemingly lies upon a higher shelf of life,
and I will never stop being someone
who naturally and occasionally
gets ahead of himself.