Everybody has a mother,
but not everybody is born
to a mother as beautiful,
amazing, and kind…
everybody is the best of their parents,
but not everybody is as lucky as I am
to have a Mum and a Dad as loving,
as caring, and as nurturing as mine…
my Dad is as strong in body as he is in mind,
and my Mum has the heart of an angel…
my Dad has given me the strength
to overcome every obstacle since I was a child,
and my Mum has given me
the life-long gift of love
and she has kept alive my creative soul
since I was boy – and together,
both my Mum and Dad have made me
the resilient and the loving person that I am,
and one of the greatest gifts of my life
has been to have been given from birth
the most caring, loving,
and amazing Mum and Dad,
and their unconditional love.
My Poem “Deep Space Discovery”
I will always seek…
I will always search…
I will always be an explorer
of other world’s beyond the stars
that shine their light upon the Earth –
because, for me, space… life…
the power of imagination…
the exploration and the discovery
of the wonders of the universe
is an enterprise into the unknown
that for a voyager like me
is more addictive to my mind
and to my heart than
a sugar-rush of candy…
I have always been a dreamer…
I have always been a wanderer…
I have always seen space
as a magical and wondrous frontier…
I have always longed to journey
to another planet…
to another solar system…
to another galaxy…
to see the Earth from so far away,
to understand how truly precious
and unique our blue planet is
even in this cosmos of infinite beauty
and of infinite diversity…
I have always wanted to be
the captain of a star-ship,
to explore the universe
and revel in each and every one
of our deep space discoveries.
My Poem “You + Me”
Our psychic connection
extends over oceans…
our love is like the sun
that shines above…
our hearts beat in time
and as-one…
our dreams at night
are always of one another,
as are our waking thoughts
during the day…
our lives are synchronized…
our magic is the music
that we effortlessly make
without even knowing it…
our world is incomplete
without what gives colour
to our all-seeing eyes…
our shared souls lift
both of our spirits
to the outer limits…
our never ending dance
is a constant blessing…
our constant communication
is as rich, vivid, deep,
and as open as any could be…
our song is the one
that we never want to stop singing…
our natural spark of physical,
emotional, and spiritual electricity
that we share is what gives meaning
to our mutually-assured and shared love,
and what inspires and what is at the heart
of the life-changing formula of you + me.
My Poem “Pause”
Planes crash. Buildings fall.
Lives are lost. Time stops.
One day can feel like it is the end of the world.
Open wounds always leave scars.
Some days can never be forgotten.
Memories can sometimes feel like stars –
sometimes they feel far away,
and sometimes they can feel
close enough to touch…
the 11th of September, 2001,
is like a scar of my memory
and I will always remember
exactly when and where I was
when it was given to me.
I have visited New York City…
I have stood at Ground Zero…
I have marveled at the memorials
that are now where two towers once stood…
I have looked up at the Freedom Tower,
and every time I think about being there
where so many people lost their lives
it always brings a tear to my eye –
because I remember where I was
when New York City and the world,
and all of us who value life above all else
were rocked both physically
and emotionally to the core…
every time I think about that day
every thing that happened that day
always makes me sad and gives me pause.
My Poem “Siren of the Stars”
When I look above
my attention is instantly captured…
when I listen to the hum of the night
the barrier between reality
and my dreams becomes fractured…
within the same moment
I see light and dark –
a bright sun and a full-moon…
among the stars
I see a pattern, a play,
a dance of light –
and then I see the sparkling eyes
and the perfect smile of my muse,
and my mind feels as if
it has left my body,
and I feel as if I am
floating through space and seeing
the multiple dimensions of the universe
one after the other…
I could be anywhere, at anytime,
at any age, at any moment of my life,
and all that I have to do
is look up to the sky and open my soul
and see, hear, and feel with all my senses
the siren of the stars.
My Poem “_”
The wind blows… the trees sway…
the water of the lake ripples…
the raindrops fall upon my face…
the clouds are grey…
it is not even midday,
and though the sky feels like
it is falling down on me
I feel completely at peace and content,
as I sit on a bench
looking out at this oasis of tranquility,
completely exposed to the elements of nature,
as the ink of my pen becomes smudged
as I write in my notebook –
however I do not mind for a second
what is happening around me and above me
which I have no control over,
because all that concerns me in this moment
is where my inspiration
and the thoughts of my imagination will take me…
some moments leave quickly
like a leaf on the wind,
while others will live forever
and they will never leave me.
Happy Internatinal Literacy Day!
My Poem “American Dogs”
American dogs
of every size, breed,
fur length and fur colour…
American dogs of the countryside,
of the city, and of suburbia…
American dogs – wolves of the domestic era…
American dogs who grow up with,
who know, and who would
protect their owner
if they were ever in danger…
American dogs who have been
taught and treated in the right way
since they were a puppy
never forget who loves them,
nor where their home is…
American dogs are an important
part of the family
that they have been adopted into…
American dogs, like children,
love to be shown affection
by their adoptive parents…
American dogs adore their human parents
and they worship them
as if they were gods…
I have seen multiple times,
in multiple ways, face-to-face,
how truly loving, social,
thoughtful, and protective
some animals can be to their
family and their siblings –
and, in my opinion,
there is nothing like the love
that is shown and given freely
by an owner, which is then
reciprocated by
an American Dog.
My Poem “Rhapsody”
The voices of everybody over-lap…
one minute the music is jazz,
the next the beautiful melody of a piano…
the echoes of a chorus of sounds
are carried through the air
like the waves of an ocean…
there are moments of time that run slow
and there are those that race past
and then are gone again in a flash…
there is a dance of people,
of language, of emotions,
of noise, of stillness, of silence…
the beats of a heart,
the thoughts of a mind,
the air and the ambiance
that flows gently like a stream
can gradually become a waterfall –
the place, the people, the music,
the moment that is filled
with an infinite number of instants
that make them who and what they are
is what is at the heart
and what is the true essence
of what poetry, to me, is all about…
the best poetry comes from the heart of a poet
who feels a moment of time and an experience
so deeply and so profoundly
that it can only be expressed as a rhapsody.
My Poem “Flamingo”
Your passion is like a flame…
an indomitable spirit beats within your heart…
a fire can be found in the blood within your veins…
your strength is inspiring…
ever since I was a boy I have watched you grow
into becoming a striking model of grace and beauty…
to see you as you are now is amazing…
you are loving to those who mean the most to you…
you have seen so much, you have been to so many places –
and yet you have not changed since you were a girl…
I am so proud of who you are…
there is no doubt in my mind that no matter what happens
to you in the future, my sister, you will never stop continuing
to be a beacon of hope for those who you love
and those whom love you…
to me, it is no coincidence that purple is your favourite colour:
because purple is the colour of royalty,
creativity, dignity, devotion, pride, independence, and magic…
to me it is fate that you like flamingos,
because “Flamingo” means “Flame-coloured”,
and Flamingos symbolize love and happiness
and someone who is accepting,
someone who opens their heart for others,
someone who can’t stop giving, and that is you to a tea –
because you embody all that a Flamingo symbolizes.
Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister!
Happy Birthday, Clare!
Mark Hastings 