adventure

My Poem “Sunset Storyteller”

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

Just before sunset
on a cool and calm evening near the seashore,
a group of friends gathered together
to go for a walk and follow a path
lead by a storyteller of infinite
creativity, imagination, and inspiration…
the promise of the evening adventure
was palpable by all who had been
inextricably drawn together by something
akin to the force of gravity;
however no one could have known
just how much of a magical experience
this away mission would be…
a gentle tram ride; a short walk down quiet streets;
the eventual arrival at the beach
all felt like moments filled
with rising levels of energy, excitement and joy –
because as the party of friends
proceeded to walk together
it felt as if new connections were being created
that would last for a lifetime.

The storyteller of languages
both spoken and unspoken
then guided the group of starry-eyed friends
along the beach and pointed out
landmarks of significance
which were a part of a tale that speaks
to the struggle that sometimes rages within people
after they have lost a loved one –
and as everyone followed along
and listened to every detail of the story being told
there was no one who was not spellbound
and entranced by the words and the imagery
that was forming within their minds.

The group then came upon the statue
of the same sea-ogre within the tale
they had been told about
and everyone who looked upon them
actually believing that they might come to life
and threaten the group;
however, because the group were protected
by the ensorcelling words of the storyteller –
an entrancing and spellbinding daughter of the sea –
no one came, nor could ever come, to any harm,
and once again the fellowship
were guided along the beach
until they came upon a giant metal shell
that as they got closer to it
seemed to encapsulate
the various voices of the group
into one harmonious chorus.

The ensemble of companions remained silent
as the sun began to set and the beautiful light of life
bound this group – our group – to one another
as we all looked out to sea towards the magnificent
sphere of fire seemingly dancing
upon the surface of the water;
before long the light of the sun faded,
but the magic of the shared experience remained –
as did the meaningful, profound, lasting,
and beautiful words of the tale
that had been shared continued to echo –
and I was so overcome and overwhelmed
with feelings of gratitude, as well as with
memories of my father who I miss every day,
that I shed a silent tear and thanked
our “sunset storyteller”
for the blessed and everlasting gift
that she had given to me.

The Pathfinder: The Other Side of the World

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites his poem “The Other Side of the World” from his 2024 poetry collection ‘The Pathfinder’ – which is now available to buy in paperback and as an ebook from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/aXnSwxa and you can check out more of Mark’s poems at http://MarkThePoet.Me

‘The Wolf In Us’ by Mark Hastings – Epilogue: “Goodbye, Olivia”

Mark Hastings books, Podcast , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites the Epilogue of his 2022 novel ‘The Wolf In Us’: “Goodbye, Olivia”. The sequel to his books ‘The Wolf In Me’, ‘The Wolf In You’, and ‘Vega – The Vampire King’. The story of Olivia Hunter continues. The tale of The Wolf deepens. The Vampire King makes a discovery. Revelations are revealed. Connections are made. Tragedy and trauma leave unseen scars. Reflections come to light. Realisations are realised. Life and death, dreams and love, provide an answer to the question: What is The Wolf In Us? 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 “The Other Side of The World”

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So many people are looking
for a new beginning...
so many people are in need
of a direction...
so many people wish that they
had something in their lives
that would give them a feeling of belonging...
so many people have friends
and family members who they love -
but they know that what they want
lies beyond what and where they have always known...
so many people have felt this insatiable
draw to get on a plane and jet off
to somewhere over the horizon...
so many people have this instinct
that compels them to go somewhere
they have never been before,
because the place they are going to
may feel so much like paradise
it could easily be a place within a dream...
so many people are just waiting
for something or someone
to give them the push they need
to take a life-changing leap...
so many people look around at their lives
and they feel that they need more...
so many people do not know
that they have been imprisoned by something,
someone, somewhere, for some time,
until they are looking up
at an unbroken blue sky
and they know what it feels like
to be truly free...
so many people have chosen
to do something profoundly special
and adventurous in the pursuit
of finding their life's purpose,
and so many people have found themselves
choosing to start a new life
thousands of miles away
from the country of their birth
in places that lie far away
on the other side of the world.

Episode #33: “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (2013 film)

Mark Hastings books, films , , , , , , , ,
In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite films: the 2013 American adventure comedy-drama film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” directed, co-produced by, and starring Ben Stiller. The second film adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 short story of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, the story revolves around Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager at Life magazine who regularly daydreams adventures and who has a crush on a coworker named Cheryl Melhoff (played by Kristen Wiig), who gets sets off on a real life adventure around the world, walking in the footsteps of legendary photojournalist Sean O’Connell (played by Sean Penn) and in search his negative #25 which he describes as being the “quintessence of Life” and the most perfect photograph for the final issue of the print version of Life magazine.

My Poem “Want to take a ride?”

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Some people love riding…
some people live to jump
on the saddle of a horse,
or on the saddle a bicycle,
on the seat of a scooter,
or on to the seat of a motorcycle –
especially on the weekend
when people feel like
time is on their side
and they can glide through
the quiet lanes of the countryside,
or down the open highways with
the wind blowing against their face,
while enjoying every moment
and every ounce of the feeling
of being unburduned by anything,
and some people also enjoy
the opportunity of the pure release
of their inner nature
that they get to make.

Some people have a great affection
for past times that make them feel rebellious –
as if they are doing something
that they shouldn’t be doing:
like disregarding a sign that says
“DO NOT ENTER” or “SLIPPERY WHEN WET”,
and they still decide to proceed
regardless to what awaits them within
the forbidden place before them…
some people are simply unable to fight
the feeling that rises within them
that makes them want to
face their fears, take a leap,
and expand the boundaries
of their imagination.

Some people sometimes do things
that they know other people
have died while doing…
some people sometimes do things
that are dangerous
because the experience of doing
certain activities is profoundly thrilling
and sometimes life-fulfilling…
some people who live near a beach
love to start their day by taking
their surfboard and riding the crests
of the early morning waves…
some people love being active,
being brave, and seeking out
their calling in life in many different ways.

Some people live to explore…
some people love to dive…
some people like the ritual
of waking up at dawn
and taking their dog for a long walk…
some people want nothing more
than to do what they want,
when they want, how they want –
especially those who wake up
every day when they do not have
anything in particular to do
and who can take the steps
to fully answer the question of:
“Where do you want to go?”…
some people experience
the feeling of being “more alive”
when they instively act upon
the question posed by
their adventurous side,
which is usually a variation
along the lines of:
“Want to take a ride?”

“Life should not be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside
in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
“Wow! What a Ride!”
– Hunter S. Thompson

My Poem “The Hero’s Journey”

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

It occurs to me that since I
first began writing poetry
that I have been on my own version
of “The Hero’s Journey”…
perhaps I have been on
my “Hero’s Journey” since I was a child –
or, more likely, like most people
who find themselves called
to seek out adventure,
my childhood was just the preparation
that I needed to learn and to grow
before I knew what I had to do,
why I had to do it,
and where I needed to go.

My call to adventure was one of love –
and when I discovered the book
that I would come to consider
as the poetic version of a “holy text”
that was when I felt like I crossed
a threshold into a new world
where I could see patterns
and poetry all around me
and I felt truly transformed
and able to walk through doors
that I was unable to do so before.

When I first started upon
the path of the poet,
and wearing the guise
of the Poet of the Sphere,
along the way I found myself
drawn to people and inspired
by mentors and muses
who opened my eyes to things
that challenged the way
that I perceived the world around me
and I was tempted down dead ends
that would ultimately lead me to a downfall.

After my fall I found myself
within a dark and deep abyss
of my own making –
however, eventually, I was able
to pick myself up off the ground
and like the embodiment of
a mythological phoenix
rising from a fire
I felt as if I had been reborn,
and yet again I found myself
walking down a path of transformation
in order to find myself,
which was followed by
moments of revelation
that lead me to atone
for the actions that I had taken
that had lead me to emotional ruin.

Over time I was given the gift
of love from a goddess
and I was forgiven, and then I returned
from the underworld of the unknown
to the land of light where I would
rekindle the love that gives
meaning to everything that I do –
and so the cycle began again,
and again – however each time always
distinctly different in some way –
and after every new revolution
was completed I always found myself
sitting down, alone, writing,
contemplating and attempting
to interpret in verse the revelations
and the phases that combine
to make the tapestry of
my own version of
“The Hero’s Journey”.

My Poem “Iconic Vehicles”

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There were so many times
while growing up
when I would stare at my television screen
and daydream that I could be the pilot
or the driver of so many of the vehicles
that I saw the heroes of my favourite
movies and television shows
driving fast and flying high with:
from Doc Brown’s Time Machine DMC DeLorean
from the Back to the Future trilogy,
to the Pontiac Firebird of The Bandit
from the Smokey and The Bandit films;
from Michael Knight’s talking Trans Am KITT,
to Batman’s Batmobile
from Tim Burton’s 1989 film
that brought The Dark Knight
to life like never before…
from Luke Skywalker’s X-wing fighter
and Han Solo’s Millenium Falcon
from the Star Wars franchise,
to the F-14 Tomcat piloted by
Tom Cruise’s character
Maverick in Top Gun;
from the Starship Enterprise’s
captained by Captain James T. Kirk
and Captain Jean-Luc Picard,
to the TARDIS of The Doctor
from Doctor Who…
from the motorbike Street Hawk,
to the advanced helicopter AirWolf;
from the A-Team’s black GMC Vantura
van with it’s red stripe
that ran along the side,
to the converted white hearse/ambulance
“Ecto-1” that was the preferred
means of travelling the city streets
of New York City by the Ghostbusters;
from the advanced submersible vehicles
that ventured and had adventures
below the waves of the sea,
like SeaQuest DSV, Thunderbird 4,
and of course Stingray…
I spent countless hours
while growing up
following the adventures
of all my on-screen heroes
and being taken on a ride
at full-speed to places
that inflamed my imagination –
and, to this day, those same cars,
those same spaceships,
those same aircraft,
those same iconic vehicles
of the protagonists
of some of my favourite fictional
childhood screen idols
still fill me with a sense of wonder
and they will never stop being
brought back to life
by the power of my imagination
and the vivid memories
that I still have of my childhood.

My Poem “The Dark Tower”

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

I once spent an entire summer
with Roland Deschain,
“The Gunslinger”,
as we followed
the “Man in Black”
as he fled across the desert
of a world that had “moved on”,
in the pages of the books
of Stephen King’s epic
multi-novel adventure
“The Dark Tower” –
and it was as we journeyed
and followed the path
of the beams that led
to the tower that stands
and binds the worlds
of Stephen King’s stories together
that I discovered along the way
that the best stories
are like the most memorable dreams,
and that to find something
you may have been looking for
for as long as you can remember
sometimes the doorways
that we must walk through
we can only find
when we explore the world’s
that reveal themselves
under the covers –
and now I am preparing to enter
a movie-theatre so that I may return
to the world of Stephen King
and journey again across a desert
and through magical doors
with “The Gunslinger”
and return again to “The Dark Tower”.

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My Poem ‘The Good Reader’

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

From acorn to tree…
to paper… to writer…
from life to inspiration…
from the pen of a poet…
to the eyes
and the imagination of a reader…
from out of a cloud of chaos…
something new… something personal…
something that like the person
writing it down and the place
from where the paper
it is being written on came from…
something incredible made believable…
something two-dimensional brought to life
so that it may walk the walk of words
and then take a leap from the page
into the mind of the one
who is reading what is being described…
a world imagined and captured
like a bolt of lightning in a bottle…
something that is a testament
to the power of the human mind…
it is amazing what a writer can do
and what pattern of magical words
they can weave…
it is amazing what a writer
can make a person believe…
epic journey’s have begun
and have been taken
by readers following every word
of every sentence of a writer’s story…
adventures of every height, depth,
and distance have been undertaken
by people who yearn to escape reality
and let their mind and their heart run-free…
over the centuries and after all the tales
that have been told there is still nothing
better to read than a story
that is based on true-events…
even to this day there is no better thing
to experience than to be told a story
and to hear a story while sitting around
a campfire at night with a group of friends…
ghost-stories, recollections,
tales of what, where, when, how, and who with…
some stories sometimes are so amazing
and miraculous that it is hard to know
what is imaginary and what is the real-thing…
a story, like a dream, is a world
that everybody steps into, lives,
and then takes something away from…
a story, a book, a world of characters
and people who we find within a tale
that must be told and read
can teach us something that we never knew
and it can also tell us something
about ourselves…
in countless bookstores, libraries,
on countless displays and book-shelves,
there is untold treasure to be found,
infinite sunsets and sunrises to be seen,
as if staring at the horizon from a pier…
sometimes it is just impossible
to put a book or a story down
once you have begun reading it –
and no matter where a book
or a story takes you
there is only one thing that you can do,
and only one thing that you want to do:
follow the words of a writer
and be a good reader.

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