A Poem A Day #536: Always With Me

“Always With Me” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Comeback Kid’ which was published in 2023 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw
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A Poem A Day #524: World’s Best Dad

“World’s Best Dad” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Comeback Kid’ which was published in 2023 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

My Poem “The Sound of His Voice”

People often try to emulate
the appearance, the mannerisms,
and the actions of others...
people often try to step
into the shoes and take on
the responsibilities of someone else...
people often try to recapture times,
memories, and experiences -
because people do not want to lose
anything that matters...
people often try to forget about
the times when people fell -
because falling in any way
is a tale telling sign of our humanity,
and though we may not want to admit it
no one is invulnerable.

People often try to echo the ideas of others,
people often try to speak for others,
people often try to imitate the voice of others -
but there are some voices
that can never be reproduced,
because the voices of some people are unique:
take my Dad, for example,
whose spirit and whose voice I can still hear,
and I will always hear every day,
within my mind, in undeleted answer phone messages,
in the memories of him and me
that I will never forget, that I will always recall,
that will always make me cry
as well as always make me smile -
because there will never be anyone like my Dad,
nor could there ever be anyone
with the same caring, compassionate,
and calming cadence that was ever-present
every time anyone heard the unmistakable
and the unforgettable sound of his voice.

My Poem “Always With Me”

Every day, I climb the hill
to stand alongside, to speak to,
and to hear the voice of my Dad -
as I always have, and as I always will,
because my Dad will always be
the golden light that guides my way...
every day, I feel like my Dad is still with me -
because he is;
wherever I look at a photograph of my Dad
I know that he is standing alongside me,
with an arm around me,
as he whispers his lasting wish:
"Be there for those who matter the most"...
every day, when I am with my Dad
the sound of birdsong can be heard all around,
and often times a robin or a pair of magpies
visits also and sings in a nearby tree,
which always makes me smile
at the same time that I start to cry...
every day, I tell my Dad I love him and I miss him
and I feel the touch of love
from my Dad that I always felt
when I looked into his eyes,
when in my mind I felt our unique connection -
which is why I will always remember,
and why I will always reflect upon,
what my Dad did for me
and what he will always mean to me -
and even now, every day, and forever
I know more than ever
that even though my Dad
may now rest atop the hill,
what made him who has was,
who he is, and who he will always be,
will always be with me
wherever I go.

My Poem “Rise to the Occasion”

Life constantly teaches us new lessons...
Life never stops posing questions...
Life has a way of showing us
just how much we do not know
about ourselves and about how
we will react when we are tested...
Life gives us what we need, who we need,
to complete various activities -
sometimes in the form of memories, recollections,
and experiences that we have accumulated;
however, there comes a time in our life
when we must all step out of our comfort zone
and step into a reality that may
come to define the rest of our lives.

My life was completely and irrevocably
changed when my Dad died...
my life was thrown off course
from the moment that I realised
nothing was ever going to be the same again...
my heart, my soul, my world
was shattered beyond repair
from the moment that I felt as if
a shard of the mirror of self-reflection
became impaled within my mind...
my life was darkened from the instant
that I knew I was going to be scarred
by a pain that would never go away.

Every day, for as long as I can remember,
I have been taking the steps and walking
the path that I needed to walk
so that I may give as much as I could
to those who needed it...
every day, for as long as I have been on
my new life's mission,
I have marched like a soldier
and done what had to be done...
every day, and for all the days ahead,
I am keenly aware that the architect
of what lies over the horizon
will ask of me to be ready for whatever peak
towards which I may need to make an ascent...
every day, I wish that I could go back
and change something that has happened
armed with the gift of hindsight -
but, because no one can ever know
exactly what will happen until it happens,
all that any of us can do when asked,
and when given a choice to act,
is to do our very best as we keep going,
keep climbing,
and keep rising to the occasion.

A Poem A Day #440: My Hero

In this episode I share my poem “My Hero” that I wrote for my Dad, David William George Hastings, and posted on my website http://MarkThePoet.Me for my Dad’s 71st on the 6th January, 2020. My Dad sadly passed away on the 8th of December and my poem “My Hero” is dedicated to him… because he will always be my hero.

A Poem A Day #428: Unbreakable Bond

“Unbreakable Bond” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘Poet of the Multiverse’ which was published in 2022 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

My Poem “World’s Best Dad”

There was no one like my Dad...
there is no one like my Dad,
and there never will be anyone like him...
my Dad was the kindest,
my Dad was the most giving,
my Dad was the most generous,
my Dad was the most loving man there ever was,
and because of who he was
those who were fortunate to know him
and to have met him could never forget him...
my Dad was one of a kind...
my Dad was always thinking about others
and doing things for others...
my Dad had the most amazing smile
and he had the most hypnotizing
and the most beautiful bright-blue eyes...
my Dad woke up every morning,
he looked out his bedroom window
as the sun began to rise,
and though at times it was a struggle for him
because of what life had put him through,
he got up and put one foot in front of the other
and he effortlessly was the best friend,
the best brother, the best husband,
the best father the world has ever known...
my Dad was there for me all my life...
my Dad will always be my greatest
source of inspiration, strength,
and he will always be my hero...
my Dad and I shared so much together -
but I would give anything
to have more time with him,
to do more things with him,
to talk to him and to hear him say to me:
"Do your best" - which was something
that he used to say to me
and which will always stay with me
every day from morning till night...
life will never be the same again,
but not a day will go by when
I will not think of my Dad,
when I will not miss my Dad,
when I will not love my Dad,
when I will not do my best for my Dad;
but, to be honest, I know, and I can feel,
that he is still with me, that he is still with us -
because he was the best man there ever was
and I am the luckiest son ever
to have had the world's best Dad.

A Poem A Day #424: My God Father

“My God Father” was taken from my poetry collection ‘Poet of the Multiverse’, which was published in 2022 by Zeloo Media and which was inspired by my Dad, David William George Hastings, who sadly passed away on December 8th, 2022. Check out more of my poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet