My Poem “Ultimate Fate”

Sometimes, the more you
think about something
and sometimes the longer
that you spend obsessing about someone -
in retrospect, you can eventually
come to discover that could have
spent the time that you did
pursuing what makes you happy,
rather than being held back
by those who never truly will...
sometimes love can be like a house of cards -
and it can take the removal
of one card out of many
to bring everything crashing down...
sometimes, we can find that we are
putting more effort into a relationship
that our significant partner -
and that is when we can come
to start hearing the alarm bells ring
and start seeing the signs
that point to an instability
within the balance of the necessary
give and take that is essential
and should always be mutual...
sometimes, we can all easily be deceived
into believing a good lie -
because we put all our trust
in someone who from the moment 
that we met them made our heart
pulse like the lightning of a thunder cloud...
there is a reason why some things
come easy to some people
and there is a reason why some things
come harder for others -
but just because something
is effortless or difficult
that does not mean that further
effort is not necessary in maintaining
the energy and the momentum of something,
until a transformation occurs
that makes us all naturally reevaluate it...
somethings will always change,
some people will always remain the same -
but no matter how
the roll of the dice shakes out,
as long as you can say with
your hand on your heart
that you did your best
and you did all you could,
then nothing and no one
can judge you on something's
ultimate fate.

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Blue – “King of the Gods”

In this episode, Mark recites the fifth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Blue’ – “King of the Gods”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Blue – “Jean”

In this episode, Mark recites the fifth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Blue’ – “Jean”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in the Mirror – “Fate”

In this episode, Mark recites the fourth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in the Mirror’ – “Fate”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in the Mirror – “Favorite Son”

In this episode, Mark recites the fourth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in the Mirror’ – “Favorite Son”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

My Poem “Viva Ibiza!”

Every morning,
as I greeted the new day,
as I looked to the horizon,
as I saw the light of the sunrise
flow over the mountains
and the roofs of the houses,
as always, I was in awe...
every morning,
as I walked the coastline,
as I listened to the sound of the waves
of the ocean going in and out,
I saw, I heard, I felt the energy
of the cosmic poetry around me
touch me, inspire me, and rejuvenate me...
every morning,
as some of the revellers of the night before
still remained sitting upon the sandy beach,
as the echoes of the beats
of the entrancing music continued
to linger,
I witnessed life, people,
attempting to revive and reset themselves
so that Summer's cycle could repeat,
just as it is always expected to...
every evening,
as I returned from enjoying and embracing
the experience of being where I was,
on an island of both beauty and infamy,
I always looked forward to looking out,
just as the light of the sun
touched the waves of the sea,
as the perpetual celebration of life carried on,
and as I closed my eyes I said to myself
what some may only express
silently with a smile
when they find themselves
in a paradise-like place
where anyone can do
what they want to do
and where anyone can be
who they want to be:
"Viva Ibiza!"

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in the Mirror – “Who Do You See?”

In this episode, Mark recites the fourth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in the Mirror’ – “Who Do You See?”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

Flashback #3: My Poem “Step Back” (January 30th, 2010)

“Step Back” by Mark Hastings is a poem Mark wrote and originally published on his blog http://poetauniversalis.wordpress.com on January 30th, 2010 ● Buy Mark a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out Mark’s merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Grey – “All Roads Lead Here”

In this episode, Mark recites the third story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Grey’ – “All Roads Lead Here”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Grey – “Oh My Gus!”

In this episode, Mark recites the third story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Grey’ – “Oh My Gus!”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC