This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections.
In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Dear Dad’, from his poetry collection The Pathfinder, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
This episode is a part of Mark’s A Journey Through Poetry – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections.
In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘World’s Best Dad’, from his poetry collection The Comeback Kid, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
“Father and Son” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
I still can’t believe that you have left us…
I still can’t believe that you are not still with us,
because I feel you with me every day -
no matter where I am, and no matter what I am doing,
it always feels like you are standing right beside me,
it always feels like you are checking up on me
and every member of your family to see if we are alright,
it always feels like you are now an angel on our shoulder,
a messenger within our dreams,
and always reminding us that we are not alone.
Losing you was like a nightmare made real…
losing you will always be a scar upon my heart,
a shard within my mind, a fragment of chaos -
like that of the debris and the aftermath of an explosion -
that will always illicit pain within me,
and which I will carry with me every day.
You and I always shared a strong bond
and a connection that connected us
beyond anything that could ever be expressed…
you were, and you will always be,
my inspiration, my hero,
the source of my everlasting strength,
and the example I have always wanted
to embody and to emulate…
no one could ever be as loving as you,
as caring as you, as wise as you, as strong as you,
nor as willing to do what you were always ready to do
at a moment's notice for the people in your life
who meant the world to you
and who loved you unconditionally in return.
I have had to change so much since
you passed on to the world to come -
which I believe runs in parallel to this one
and has many states of being -
and I have had to step up
and do what you used to do,
what you tried to prepare me for;
however, nothing and no one can ever know
what it takes to have to take on the responsibilities
of someone else until they have to follow in their footsteps…
every day, you continue to give me
so much of what I didn’t know I needed
exactly when you know that I need it -
as you always have, and as you always will -
and I will bask in your love, your presence,
and in your extraordinary light every moment
until the day that you and I are once again reunited
and we get to talk to each other
like we always used to…
you and I were, and still are,
so much more than what we appear to be -
because there will always be something about us
that is unique and unlike anything or anyone else,
because we are, and we will always be, special
and more than just father and son.
Get your copy of the hardback version of my book ‘The Comeback Kid’!
Originally published in 2023, my poetry collection ‘The Comeback Kid’ is dedicated to my Dad and it was the first book I published following his sudden passing.
The poems within ‘The Comeback Kid’ symbolise the inner strength that we must all sometimes find within us to carry on living after losing someone who meant the world to us, and who was an inspiration to so many people in so many ways – just as my Dad was, and always will be.
I honestly did not know if I would ever be able to write anything else ever again after I lost my Dad; however, while still continuing to feel my Dad’s presence, as well as my unbreakable bond and my deep connection to my Dad, not to mention his phenomenal spirit and his incredible inspiration every day, I felt compelled to continue to write and publish a collection of poetry that my Dad would have been proud of. I know my Dad was always proud of me, he always believed in, and he always instilled in me the ethos to always do my best, no matter what I did – and I try to follow my Dad’s example and words of wisdom every day.
I miss my Dad, and I always will. And ‘The Comeback Kid’ will always represent who my Dad and I have always been – and no matter what we do, nor where we are, we will never give up, and we will always make a comeback in some way.
Get your copy of the new hardcover version of ‘The Comeback Kid’, featuring a brand new cover image, from Amazon now! 😊
Ever since I was young,
capturing moments of time
with a camera has been important
to me and to my family -
especially to my amazing Dad:
who used to record home movies
of us when we used to go on family holidays
to Orlando, Florida,
in the United States of America...
when I was a boy,
my Dad used to take photos of us
whenever we would go somewhere together -
because to my Dad photographs
were like memories,
and because my Dad loved his family
and he loved sharing his life
with his adoring wife and his children
whenever he would look back upon
the joyous instances that he had captured
you could see in his eyes
what every second with us
meant to him.
Children grow up so fast...
families change,
especially when things happen
that are out of their control...
no matter how old someone is
everybody always daydreams of the past...
as we all move from place to place,
and as we all meet new people,
we all adapt and to wherever we are
and we all find ourselves
undertaking new roles -
and there are always things
that we hold on to
which always gives us a jolt of nostalgia
every time we hold them again:
perhaps something that we had
forgotten about that feels like
the piece of a puzzle
which reminds us of something
that once meant the world to us.
Family photos are both wonderful -
and yet bittersweet reminders
of who we were, where we were,
and with whom, once upon a time,
when things were different...
memorable songs are great to hear again -
but whenever you hear a certain song
playing somewhere, at some time,
everybody always has an emotional reaction,
and sometimes a particular song
can make you think of someone
you have lost but also someone
whose soul still feels close enough to touch.
The stories of things and people
often times outlast and endure
beyond those who they are about,
because everybody loves to be entertained
by the exploits and the adventures
of someone whose memory
and spirit is indelible
and sometimes tangible -
and there are times when
the image of something or someone
can say even more than
a thousand words about them could,
especially when someone who
is a natural storyteller shows
what and who meant the most to them
through whom they chose
to record and to remember
whenever they picked up a camera
and captured in every second
of their home movies.
Whenever a beam of sunlight touches us,
whenever a red-breasted robin
comes to visit us,
whenever we see a white feather
on the path before us,
whenever we feel someone
standing beside us,
whenever we see your face within our mind,
we know that you have returned to us
to make sure we are OK,
as you put your hand upon our shoulders,
as you continue to smile
your one of a kind smile,
as your blue eyes continue to shine
brighter than the stars of night sky,
as you continue to give us the gift of you,
as well as your amazing presence and radiating spirit,
as we all continue to feel
your everlasting love.
I can not believe that it has been
a year since I last saw you,
I can not believe that it has been
a year since I last heard your voice,
I can not believe that it has been
a year since I last held your hand;
every day, I still feel our bond and our connection...
every day, I can still feel your presence
and I have felt comforted by the knowledge
that I know you are now living a life
somewhere beyond what can be seen -
because you have visited me
and you have spoken to me
now multiple times in my dreams.
Life will never again
be the same as it was...
every day I think about you,
and I can still recall how
devastated and distraught
I was when I found out
that you had been taken from us...
I am not the same as I was,
nor could anyone hope to be
following the loss of someone
who meant the world to them,
as you will always mean to me...
I will always remember all that
you gave me and all that you taught me,
and I will continue your legacy
for as long as I live...
to me, you will always be
the best father anyone ever had
and you will always be
my inspiration and my hero,
my incredible and my always
near and dear Dad.
David William George Hastings
6th January 1949 - 8th December 2022
Mark The Poet 