Time certainly does fly -
one minute you are young and carefree,
and the next you find yourself looking in the mirror
and wondering whose reflection
it is that you now see;
because our time and the events of our life
sometimes feel like something that happened
to someone else, somewhere else -
because what happens to us as we grow
and as we progress through the waves of change
that crash against us have a direct
and a profound impact upon us
in ways that sometimes only become
apparent years afterwards…
time is always temporary -
because every moment is unique
and sometimes only fragments can be found
that harken back to memories of experiences
remain to reflect upon and remind us
of the times of our past that always find a way
to endure in some form or another…
when we are young our birthdays
are the best days of our lives
and we look forward to them for many reasons;
however, as we get older, our birthdays
can feel more like milestones of our life’s journey
and quiet reminders that no matter
what we do we can never
undo what has been done -
and we are reminded to accept what we cannot change
and learn to appreciate who and what
still matters to us and gives meaning to us…
being a wiser man than I was,
and after going through what I have been through,
I am grateful for who I am, for what I am,
and for who and what I have in my life,
and I do not look back and think that I would change
that much from my past -
because I believe that those who were once
by my side are no longer with me for a reason,
and those who remain with me
have always been with me and always will be…
perhaps, one day, I will find myself wondering,
yet again, about who I am and how I came to be
who and what I have become
and I may have had a change of heart
and mind about what happened and why;
however, until then, I am happy to be here,
with whom I share my story with,
as I continue to wax lyrically and loudly
my belief in the power of poetry
and my ability to be a creative, productive,
optimistic and positive individual
and influence to everyone I know
and everyone I meet.
Birthday
My Poem “Warrior”
When I was thirteen years old,
I distinctly remember
wishing that I had a time machine
so that I could travel through time -
and, within the blink of an eye,
it seems as if thirty years have gone by,
and here I am looking back
and wondering how everything
could have changed so much...
when I compare my life as a boy
to my life now as a man -
although some things have not changed -
when I look around and I remember
who is missing and who it was
who made me who I am,
I cannot help myself wishing
that I could go back
and get one more minute
with the people
who will always matter to me
and those who I will always love.
Christmases and birthdays
over time merge into one...
when we are younger
we feel as if we have
all the time in the world
to do anything and to go anywhere
we can imagine...
as we get older most people
do not want to be reminded
of how old they are,
because every day seems
to pass faster than the beats of a drum...
as the person who we see in the mirror
changes before our eyes
each of us look at ourselves
and wonder where all that time
went in between us
asking questions to our parents and us having to face
the scars of life that can be seen
upon our reflection.
Every year, I have always had
something to remind me
of how lucky I am to have the family
and the friends that I have had in my life,
and so many people whom I have met
have inspired me in more ways
than I could ever put into words -
but because of what I have seen,
and because of what I have been through
personally over the last few years,
I would be lying if I said that
I had not begun to wonder
whether my time was almost up
and whether my purpose in life
had perhaps already been fulfilled.
Sometimes I look back
and I see a younger version of myself
looking back at me -
someone who had yet to suffer
all the heartbreak and the loss that I have -
and I want to tell them the truth:
that things only get harder
as you get older;
however, if and when I try
to send a message back through time
to who I was in the past,
I always just tell myself that
things will be OK
but that there will be days
when things will change
beyond our control -
so make sure to be brave
and to never forget that
everything happens for a reason,
and one day you will realize
that you are someone
who was always going to be
who you were supposed to be:
someone who will always do
what must be done,
no matter what -
because, just like your father,
you are a warrior.
My Poem “The Leap Day”
Today is the 29th of February...
today is a day that will not
come again for another four years...
today is a day when women
traditionally "pop the question"
and propose to their significant other
and ask them to marry them...
today is an anomaly,
which also serves as
the solution to a problem...
today is a day that is celebrated
because it is only seen on a calendar
when it is a leap year...
today is when so many people
will be celebrating
the actual day of their birthday -
and not a day before or after it...
today is a day when so many people
will choose to do something
they have never done before...
today is a day when lives
will be changed forever...
today is a day that means more
than can be expressed in words...
today is a day when opportunities
will present themselves
that should be taken advantage of,
because what will follow
will only be known at a time in the future
when we are ready to see
and understand what happened and why...
today is not just any day,
because it gives us all
the gift of perspective
that time is not what we think it is -
because life is complicated and emotional
and sometimes not easily defined
in practical and understandable ways...
today is a day that has always fascinated me,
because it both exists and doesn't -
as if it were a part of
some kind of temporal experiment...
today is a day when the events of it
will not be marked again
for another four years -
so allow me to take this opportunity
to wish everyone reading this luck
for what is to come in their lives,
and also a very happy leap day!
A Poem A Day #544: 42
42
My Poem “42”
Today is the day... Today is the time I have been waiting for... Today is the end and the beginning of a brand new age... Today is my birthday, but not just any birthday: this birthday feels unlike every other that has come before - it feels as if I have reached the summit of a mountain and I am looking out to the landscape of my life and everything and everyone, who once seemed so close, now seem so far away. Today, more so than at any other time, when I look back and I remember who I have known and where I have been, I realise just how much I have lost... Today, more than I could ever describe, when I look in the mirror or when I look at photos from the past, I see the choices that I have taken that have changed me and moulded me into the man I am... Today, more than yesterday, when I return to places I know well, I see flashes of faces and experiences that appear as if made up of fragments of dust... Today, looking forwards, I know that things will never be the same again. Today, I have the ability to see behind, as well as to see beyond... Today, I have the instinct to do what I always want to do: to go with the flow and to not worry about anything, and to act as if I have nothing left to lose... Today, as always, I am grateful for my family, for my friends, for those who have given me the keys of inspiration that I use every day to open up the door of perception and imagination... Today, I celebrate finally reaching the age that is the same as my favourite number and the answer to life, the universe, and everything: yes, today I am 42.
A Poem A Day #440: My Hero
A Poem A Day #326: Happy Birthday!
My Poem “Forty one”
Who would have thought that at the age of forty one I would be back here, like a message in a bottle washed up on a beach, back to where it all began, back to square one... who would have thought this would be my life - still looking, still learning, still believing, still falling from grace whenever my feelings get the better of me, still a part of a multi-layered and multidimensional game that ultimately cannot be won... who would have thought that someone could do so much, that someone could feel so much, that someone could meet so many others - but still able to find themselves waking up and asking themselves: did that all really happen, or was it all just a dream? who would have thought that with all the knowledge that someone can accumulate over a life that they can still at times feel lost for words by new mysteries... who would have thought that my journey through life would be like that of the path of a cyclist within a velodrome - going around and around in a constantly repeating circuit - or like that of a man in maze searching for the centre as well as a way out... who would have thought that I would still find a reason to smile while witnessing the first light of the sun... who would have thought that every day I would still be surprised by the world, by people, and by myself - here and now, at the grand old age of forty one.
My Poem “Forty”
Where did all the time go?
The last thing I knew I was
celebrating my thirtieth birthday,
and today I am celebrating
turning the big four-oh?
What a forty years it has been!
What a life I have lived!
When I look back I sometimes
cannot believe where I have been,
what I have done, nor who I have met
over the course of my life –
and because time goes by so fast
there are inevitably dreams that I have had
that feel like memories and there are memories
that I have made that sometimes feel like dreams.
It’s been forty years since I arrived
into this world that every day
never ceases to both surprise and inspire me…
it’s been forty years since I was
welcomed into this world with open arms
by my parents and by my family…
it’s been forty years since I first
saw another human being,
since I first smiled, since I first heard
the background music of nature
that never stops playing…
it’s been forty years since the light
of the sun bestowed upon me
the sight of miracles that will always be with me
and will continue to keep my heart beating.
I remember exactly where I was,
what I was doing, and what I was thinking
ten years ago, when I turned thirty –
and when I think back to those simpler times
I cannot believe what the last ten years
especially have given to me:
the gift of inspiration, the gift of poetry,
the gift of perpetual love,
the gift of looking above to the stars
of the night and to the bright blue
of the daytime sky, and the realisation
that life is an adventure that needs
to be lived to be fully understood.
I know who I am, I know what I am,
and I know who and what in this world
mean the most to me –
so, today, as I turn forty,
if I had to choose one word
to describe myself or my life,
I would undoubtedly have to say: Lucky –
because over the last forty years
I have been given a life filled with
moments that are the stuff of pure poetry.
Mark Hastings 