It's OK if I should pass on to the world to come, because I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that I have played my part and I have definitely left my mark... it's OK if I had to go because I would again get to see all the people whom I have known - including the man who was always and who will forever be my hero... it would be OK I were to have written my last poem and to have seen my last sunrise, because I know that I did my best every day while I was alive... it would be sad to have to go and to not be able to say a proper goodbye to all those people who I know would miss me when I am gone and who I know would think of me and cry... it is not something I am planning to do, it is not something I am looking forward to, but if this poem were the last thing that anybody heard of me then I hope I will be remembered as being someone who gave back and who believed that every day was a gift... it is my lasting hope and my wish that someday someone will read my words, someone will see my face, someone will think about something or about someone who they love and wonder what and whom it was who inspired me, and the future reader of my poetry and I will begin to communicate with one another across space and across time because we will have created a bridge back to each other that we can use to learn more about ourselves and about how we can all help others through the darkness that follows the last light of our last sunset.
death
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in the Mirror – “Fate”
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in White – “Encore”
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Black – “The Black Cat”
A Poem A Day #344: Deathly Silence
My Poem “The Candle”
It's sometimes hard to know what to say, it's sometimes hard to know what to do, it's sometimes hard to know what someone is personally going through after they lose someone that they spent time with, someone who they cared about, someone who they loved, and someone who they could never foresee living in a world without; but that is the anguish and that is the reality of life and death that we all must sometimes grapple with - which can make us all feel mentally lost, physically sick, and emotionally devastated... it's sometimes hard to put into words what someone meant to you, because usually there are too many memories and too many experiences to look back on and recount in every detail of what happened, when, why, and how a particular person made us feel... it's sometimes hard to know if you have done enough for someone in need - family members, friends, even strangers who you can see are struggling with a deep and excruciating pain; but if you truly want to do something for someone, then be there for them - even if by doing so you are simply on the other end of a phone, grieving with them, giving them your time, as well as the gift of your condolences that are genuine, meaningful, and meant to help - like the simple act of kindness of remembering someone special by lighting a candle.
My Poem “Her Majesty”
I will never forget the 8th of September, 2022 - the day that I and the entire nation of Great Britain mourned the passing of Queen Elizabeth the second... it had been raining on and off all day - and for some reason when I heard that members of the Royal Family were rushing to be by The Queen's side I had a feeling that we soon may be witnessing the end of her reign. When it was announced that The Queen had died, I must admit that I and my family did indeed cry - because we had lived with The Queen all our lives, and she had always been like a grandmother to our entire nation whose image we had seen and carried with us wherever we went and whenever we needed to use some physical pounds and pence. Things will never be the same again... now King Charles III will take his mother's place as the head of state... now when we sing the national anthem we will have to say "God Bless The King" instead of "God Bless The Queen"... this year The Queen celebrated having spent 70 years on the throne - 70 years in which she showed true strength, grace, regality, and a sense of duty to her people and the country that she loved... Queen Elizabeth II and I shared the same birthday - the 21st of April - and though we were not at all close in age I always considered the fact that we were born on the same day and the same month to be something special to me, for some reason. It is the end of an era... it is the end of what is it being referred to as the "second Elizabethan Age"... it is the end of one reign and the beginning of another - but no matter what happens going forwards nothing will be the same... it is with a deep and profound sense of sadness that I must write about the death of a woman who was inspiring and influential to so many people in so many ways for seven decades - and even though I was never lucky enough to get the chance to meet The Queen personally, I will always remember her as being someone who every year I wanted to watch the Christmas message of, someone who personified the importance of obligation, pride, duty, legacy, and family - which is why I will always think fondly of The Queen, Elizabeth II, Her Majesty.
21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022
My Poem “The Crow”
When I walked out of my house this morning I immediately found myself staring into the dark eyes of a crow - it was as if the crow knew something about me and about what was going to happen to me that I did not know... I stared at the crow, as they stared back at me, and then when I started walking towards them they let me get perhaps two feet before they decided to flap their wings and take flight as quietly, as quickly, and as effortlessly as could be... I didn't think anything else of the crow until just now, as a matter of fact, as I wonder how long it will take before I once again feel whole again, and just like the old me; however, I know that it is too late for some things and that there are some things that will forever remain in the past... we are all a product of the choices that we have made and the road that we walk upon that is built upon our hopes, our dreams, as well as our fears and our actions that we can't take back... when I woke up this morning I knew that I had something waiting for me - something that I knew would leave a scar upon me that only I will wear and that only I would know... when I woke up this morning I was given a message meant only for me that when I think about it now was as clear as clear could be - and the messenger of this message was who was waiting for me outside my house this morning: none other than the black bird that is smarter than you could know, and symbolically considered to be the herald of change, transition, transformation and new beginnings that is The Crow.
The Mark Hastings Experience – Season 3, Episode #4: “Life + Death”
My Poem “Grieve for Them”
What can be said… what can be done…
what can be read… what can be known
about how somebody is going to act,
how somebody is going to think,
how powerless somebody is going
to feel after they lose someone
who they have known all their life –
someone who they may not have seen every day,
someone who they may not have talked
to on a regular basis,
but someone who was always there
as a source of stability and faith,
and someone who they always loved.
Words can’t describe what certain
people go through after someone
they cared for unexpectedly dies…
some people feel numb, some people feel lost,
some people feel like they have misplaced
a part of themselves immediately after
they hear the tragic news that they
will never see someone again –
and sometimes the pain that is felt is so extreme
that it overpowers a person’s
natural ability to show their sorrow
with the tears of a cry.
It’s so sad to see people suffering
from profound grief to the degree
that they recede within themselves
both physically and psychologically –
not even wanting to leave
the coccoon of their bed to eat, to drink,
to wash their face, to dress themselves
how they normally would,
nor unable to convey the hurt
that they constantly feel in their chest
as their heart attempts to heal itself
after seemingly breaking into a million pieces.
It’s a long road back to normality
after you lose someone who always made
you feel special passes away –
there isn’t anything that anybody can do for you
other than to give you the time that you need
to come to terms with the hard reality
that death is the part of life
which nobody can do anything about,
but what each and every one of us can do
is to never forget all those people
who may have left us physically
but who will always be with us in spirit,
who may have seen something in us
that we may never have seen
and who may have known us
better than we could ever truly know ourselves
and who every day we will think of,
who will love always, who we will always honour,
who we will always remember,
who we will always be grateful for the gift of,
and who not a day will go by
when we will not grieve for them.
markthepoet.me 