creativity

My Poem “War of Words”

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

Even some of the longest
and the most devastating conflicts
that the people of our planet have known
have started with something seemingly
so small, so simple, and so subtle as a single word,
or a whisper in the ear of someone
whose voice and influence carries farther than others…
even some of the most seemingly innocent
and quiet people on Earth
are capable of inflicting a great deal of harm
and can create a great deal of damage –
because though they appear to be someone
who would not say anything to anybody,
behind closed doors some people
are not who and what they seem
and they take any opportunity to
talk about others and attempt to
ruin how people they don’t like are perceived…
even the closest of friends
can find themselves falling out with one another
because they believe that their relationship
has changed to such a drastic degree
that there is no going back to how things were
when things were good…
even some days that begin without
anything to grumble about
can slowly descend into a “day from hell” –
when everything seems to go wrong,
when no one can find mutual understanding,
nor common ground,
and when every interaction feels like a fight
that will only escalate and get out of hand
the more that time goes on…
even something that was originally intended
to be a joke can be twisted and turned
into something that is a far cry
from what it was supposed to be –
and as a result feelings can be expressed,
things can be said, choices can be made,
and what will happen next may not
be what was expected, nor wanted,
because it doesn’t take long for
“nothing” to become “something”,
nor does it take long for something that is said
to be taken out of context,
and it doesn’t take long before
there are the first of many exchanges shared
within a war of words.

Taken from my poetry collection ‘The Storyteller’ – out now: https://amzn.eu/d/fJUJ6Ss

My Poem “An Artist At Their Best”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
An artist is always a storm of emotions...
an artist is never just inspired
by one source of inspiration...
an artist is always looking
to create something for a reason -
because their instincts
tell them that they must...
an artist is never bound
by a blueprint or a roadmap,
because what they want to say,
what they want to share,
and what they want to show
may ultimately become something
that can not be displayed upon one wall
nor contained within the confines
of a single canvas.

An artist is always finding
new energy to inspire new art...
an artist never forgets
what it was, or who it was,
that gave them the first link
of an idea that would
grow into becoming a chain -
sometimes made of a substance
as strong as steel
or as fragile as glass...
an artist always sees the world,
the universe, as if it were one, big,
limitless, gallery of infinite beauty
and infinite possibilities...
an artist never explains
why their creations are
the way that they are,
because, after their creation,
everything starts a new life
and becomes something different
to everyone who finds it.

An artist uses every colour, every word,
every sound, every sensation,
every taste, every aroma,
to create what they make...
an artist sometimes returns
to something that others
might have long-since left behind -
ncluding their so-called "mistakes"...
an artist, like a child, knows
what they are saying when they speak -
but because, sometimes, some things
need a little more time given
by their observers and admirers
in order to interpret the secrets of their meaning,
some creations reveal what they are
and why they are created
a long time after the passing
of the artist who took the time
to bestow them with
a splinter of who they will always be...
an artist has been capturing
the life around them
and the life within them
since the first human
watched their first bolt of lightning
streak across a dark sky
and create the sound of thunder
that echoed with the sound
of their heart beating in their chest...
an artist is able to show
all who discover their art
what humanity is capable of,
and also what is possible
when humanity unites -
and that is when an artist
is truly at their best.

The Pathfinder: Flow State

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites his poem “Flow State” 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

My Poem “Escapism”

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

Reality is tangible, and yet there are times
when reality can feel absolutely unbelievable…
the real world is sometimes managible,
the real world is sometimes even palatable –
but occasionally the “real world” can
at times feel too much to handle.

Reality is physical and undoubtedly
it can at times feel painful…
the real world, the outside world,
is where things get done,
where progress is made,
where we get to look people in the eye,
where we get to share a smile,
where we get to experience things
that are grounded in nature –
but the real world is also where
the weight of certain things
upon our emotions and upon
our thoughts and upon our dreams
can sometimes make us all feel fragile.

Reality is life – but every so often
everybody needs a dose of something
that they have never seen before,
or perhaps something that they
may have seen over and over again…
everybody needs a vision of a life
and of a world unlike the one
that they are daily familiar with…
everybody needs to have this place,
this time, those moments,
those out of body experiences
when they get let their imagination
run wild so that it can play along with all
of the fantastic possibilities of creativity
that they see – which may not be
a true reflection of the everyday world,
but which are always considered to be
a source of hope to help people cope
and to get some much needed escapism.

My Poem “Start Early”

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

Some of the most profound
and prolific artists started
creating art early…
some of the most revered
and remembered artists
all began their artistic journey
by being a day-dreamer…
some of the most insightful
and incredible artists
started every new day with
questions about the universe
and their place within it…
some of the most powerful
and poetic artists begin
with a blank canvas
and with an impulse to
to describe something with
descriptive and definitive words
if they are a writer,
or with colour and texture
like that of the brush-strokes of a painter…
some of the most amazing
and astonishing artists
start out doing what they love
to do simply for fun…
some of the most inspiring
artists were inspired and
can inspire others simply…
some of the artists who
have the most unique of voices
speak with their art as
if they were standing within
a forest of trees basking
in the afternoon light of the sun…
some people discover their
secret identity as an artist later in life,
and some people hear the call
of creativity when they are still a child
and forever afterwards as a adult
whatever path they proceed upon
they always start early.

My Poem “The God Frequency”

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

When we want to make something
a reality we often think about
something more, we often talk
about something more,
and we often look for and see
signs that indicate that the time is right
for what we want to manifest before us,
like a stream of sunlight from above,
and there are times when we all
receive messages on a specific frequency –
the same one that the universe vibrates on –
that our brain interprets in many ways,
which is this celestial music
that has influenced and inspired
many artists and many musicians
to allow their gifts to shine
upon the medium before them
in order for them to capture the energy
within them that often harmonizes
and resonates with the source of
all life that brought about
all the forces in existence.

Our minds are multi-dimensional…
when we dream we are able to
dive deep and explore the world within us
that lies below the surface of
the ocean of reality and consciousness…
the sound of someone’s voice
can be sometimes be enough to
open up a door, a window,
a pathway within our minds –
especially the mind of a child –
just enough for people to feel
compelled to feel comfortable
allowing themselves to drift away…
the sounds of nature – whether the sound
of waves crashing again a shore,
the sound of the wind blowing
through the branches of trees,
or perhaps to sound of raindrops
falling upon a window pane –
can effect people so fundamentally
and can generate great fountains of
strength and inner calmness.

There are some instruments
whose voice speaks lounder
and penetrates deeper into a person’s soul
than others which also has the ability
to bless insight upon whomever is their
player and whomever is their audience…
nothing is ever truly lost because
everything comes back around
again eventually…
planets, stars, people, subatomic particles,
thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams
have their own sounds that
reverberate around them,
and everything and everybody
interacts with each other
like the rippling waves upon a sea –
and this connection that connects
every living thing to one another
is a divine network and broadcast
that is often referred to as
“The God Frequency”.

Mark The Poet – The Podcast: Episode #26

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

My Poem “The Gift of Freedom”

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

The beat of the raindrops falling
outside my bedroom window
sounds like someone is playing
a drum solo of some kind,
and the tune that I hear
is one that is unique to my ears
because it is being slowly conducted,
created and performed by nature itself
randomly and yet beautifully
and at a time when individual
creativity and ingenuity
seems to be at its most prized.

Grey clouds obscure the blue sky above…
people queue in their droves to go
shopping at their preferred supermarkets
and convenience stores –
however, there are definitely less people
walking, cycling, and driving from place to place
than there normally would be…
people are naturally trying to use
their time inside their homes wisely
by making things and by doing daily chores
while spending the majority of their time
surrounded by the same familiar four walls.

It’s good to do things…
it’s good to have routines…
it’s good to focus your attention
on what you can do to keep
the light with you and within
everybody around you shining…
it’s good to start something,
it’s good to finish something,
it’s good to repeat something,
it’s good to find meaning in something –
because sometimes by doing something
you can discover that that which
you have been looking for
has been present in your life
and has been secretly
inspiring your dreams for some time…
sometimes it is not until people
have to surrender to living a life
of incarceration, lockdown,
isolation and quarantine
that they realize what the true gift
of freedom is and what it truly means.

My Poem “The Eyes of a Poet”

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

As the rain lashed down
on a cloudy day
I looked out the window
of the Diplomat café,
as a bright blue tram car
glided passed upon the rails
of the tram railway –
and as I did I immediately
found myself experiencing
a wave of inspiration grow within me,
which I knew almost instantly
that I wanted to savour,
to save, and to capture
so that it may endure
in some profound way.

Writers and artists are always looking
for a place where they can create
unimpeded by the distractions
of the outside world –
especially when they are first
starting out upon their artistic journey;
personally, I try not to box myself
into the corner of a particular room
and declare that there is only
one place and one way,
where, when, and how,
I can express what I want to say.

Writers and artists are constantly
finding themselves creating art
at every time of the day
and wherever they find themselves
caught in the shower of
shooting stars of inspiration,
because what artists become inspired by
is ultimately in the hands of fate,
and over the years I have
randomly found myself –
while staring at a sunset,
while sitting in a movie theatre,
while staring at a masterpiece of art
by Vincent van Gogh or Leonardo da Vinci –
absolutely and unfathomably
in a state of complete mesmerism
in which I felt like I could access
deeper layers of connection, life,
and an understanding about the art
that I saw and the artist
responsible for creating
what ultimately turned out to be
that something that would inspire me.

Artists and writers
are always chasing that once
in a lifetime spark
of artistic creativity
that will excite and unify
every one of their senses
and their instincts
and that will perfectly combine
to make something special
that people will never forget –
and being an artist is sometimes
like walking a line,
like crossing borders,
and like discovering
and delivering a message…
being an artist and a writer
is sometimes like being some kind
of an envoy, a peacemaker, a diplomat,
and someone who can occasionally see –
when they can look at all
the multiple possibilities
of something simultaneously –
that things become increasingly
more clearer when you
take a step back from something,
while still looking at it
and while still internalizing it,
however while secretly interpreting it
by using the eyes of a poet.

My Poem “It Takes One to Know One”

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

From my experience,
over the course of a life
of being around music lovers,
movie lovers, storytellers,
and those who have had to live
through many things during their life,
I have slowly felt the awakening of a gift –
a gift that I believe became apparent
when I began exploring, experimenting,
and expressing my thoughts, feelings,
hopes, fears, and desires:
the ability to see and to recognise
a particular gift within somebody
who life has steered towards me
so that I may interact with them –
and because I am a poet,
and because I am naturally
a very emotional person
who is regularly emotive about
what is on his mind,
what he believes to be true,
as I quietly but openly question
what something means and whether
there is more to explore
about something, at the same time
that I am dreaming about
what is in store in the future,
and every day I believe that I see
things in people, in places,
and in ways that other people perhaps
may be temporarily incapable
of seeing and believing –
especially within themselves:
natural gifts, skills, talents, voices,
hidden and perhaps undiscovered
powers of persuasion to be able
to make people feel something
and to bring out something
from deep within them,
and in turn continue the miracle
of life that was begun when light
first shined upon the deep darkness
of space and gave rise to the first stars,
planets, and all the other multicolored
phenomena of the universe
that have been inspiring life
and which was inspired into being
once upon a time by an explosion
of creativity that continues
to bloom over and over
again within the soul of every living thing.

One of the greatest gifts someone
can give someone else
is to recognize and to inform them
that they have within them
something that needs to be shared far and wide
and with as many people as possible –
and I believe that it is the duty
of the creatively inclined
to stoke the fire of fellow artists
and to tell them to do the same
whenever they find someone
with hidden talents,
because sometimes the only person
who can recognise someone
as being gifted and special
is someone with a similar love
that beats within them
night and day like a perpetual drum –
and also because, as the old saying goes,
sometimes: “it takes one to know one.”