different

My Poem “We Have It All”

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

I am different…
you are different…
everybody is different –
and yet we are all the same,
which I think is absolutely amazing!
I am on a different path,
you are in a different lane –
and yet so many people
find themselves at the same
moment of crossroads
when and where there is a vital
transference of knowledge and energy,
which can feel electrifying!
I am experiencing what I see
and what I feel around me personally,
you are interpreting everything
like only you can –
and yet when there is the discovery
of a breakthrough of life-changing proportions
people from all around the world
can gather together and herald
the arrival of yet another game-changer
in how we all live our lives.

I have never stopped being
in awe of the power and the poetry
of the universe that we can see
and measure with our own eyes
and with some of the instruments
that we have invented;
however, I know that all the secrets of existence
may never be known –
which is fine by me,
because there is more to be gained
by investigating the source of a riddle
than the eventual reveal of a mystery.

I understand the draw to explore…
I agree that we need to colonize
other worlds in order to know
more about the diversity of life
throughout the universe of galaxies…
I do not dispute that there are
other planets with other civilizations
living and thriving on them…
I would gladly take a ticket to ride
upon a rocket into orbit
or aboard a starship at warp-speed
to another part of the Milky Way galaxy –
but I do think that we all need to
look around at this world
that we live upon once in a while,
our home, and realize that right now
this is all that we have, this is who we are,
and if we could all just choose
to stop making so much of our
societies revolve around
corruption and greed
then everybody could have it all
because here on Earth
we have everything that
we could possibly need.

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My Poem “Mnemonic”

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

When you live in the countryside
you get to see a lot of wildlife…
when you live in the city
you get to find many different
types of man-made art
just wanting to be discovered…
when you grow up surrounded by nature
you gain an appreciation of the power
of the green leaves of every tree,
the sound of the wind blowing
and singing its song
of equilibrium and peace,
and the exceptional beauty
of the vibrant colours of every flower…
when you grow up surrounded by
towering buildings, constant noise,
people, traffic, even from a young age
you have to quickly acquire
an innate knowledge and wisdom
to be able to remember so many signs
telling you what to do, when to do something,
and you have to adapt to so many moments
that sometimes test the limits
of your instincts.

Whether you live surrounded by
the green fields of the countryside
and you are already familiar
with the wonders to be found
while wandering down the sometimes
long and winding country lanes,
or whether you know how to get
from point A to point B
by using public transport
or by being quick-footed
through the always bustling
streets of f a big city –
when you are out and about
and living the life you are meant live
you must always remember
to make the most of what you
have learned and the skills
that make you the mnemonic human being
that you are and everybody is meant to be.

My Poem “Up With The Crows”

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

I’ve always been an early riser…
I’ve always awoken before
the sun has risen above the horizon…
I’ve always bee someone lucky enough
to have been given the gift of being
able to hear and to be able to listen
to the beautiful symphony
and the majestic choir of the dawn chorus
sung by all manner of birds.

I’ve always been a poet who has looked,
listened, and took in the spirit
and the essence that greets me
every morning when I open up
all of my senses to all the wonders
and all the magic that I have felt –
all the inspiration that has been
conjured within my mind
that have been converted into perfect words.

Some mornings I wake up
and I am instantly and automatically
ready for the day ahead of me,
and then there are those mornings
when it takes me a minute or two
to find my bearings
and get my priorities straight…
some mornings I feel like
I am ahead of the game,
and some mornings I feel like
my brain is running late.

Every morning is definitely
a different morning than the one
that came before and it will definitely
be different from the one that will follow;
however, I am just like everybody else
and I too have my own version
of a morning routine that I believe
stands me in good stead
and starts my day off on the right foot –
and I like to think that every morning
I am prepared to zig and to zag
and to adapt to every thing that the world
is just waiting to throw my way.

Some mornings, my thoughts, my feelings,
my blood, runs fast –
and some mornings, like a car
stuck in a traffic-jam,
the highway of my consciousness runs slow;
however, I can honestly report
that there hasn’t been many mornings
during my life, even as child,
when I have not woken up
with a brand new idea in my mind
that I want to caw about
and at the same time as the crows.

My Poem “Multicolored”

Mark Hastings life, music, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everybody is an individual,
a person, a spectrum of many colours
throughout their life…
no one can help what body they are born into…
everybody constantly hopes to be able
to one day express themselves
in the way that they want to
without feeling abnormal and as if
who they are on the outside
is not meant to fit in with
how the world is, how it is meant to be,
and how it is meant to look…
no one has the right to be able
to tell anyone that they cannot
be who and what they want to be.

Music is life, life is music –
and people in all their many colours
and with all their individualistic
facets are who make the music of life
as rich as it is, and without all
the many pioneers of individualism
and the proponents of staying true
to what you believe
then the world as we know it would not exist.

The best of humanity, the icons of history
who will be revered forever,
the ground-breakers who knew
even before they learned how to talk
that they were special, different,
anomalous, and exceptional
because they saw the world
and the question posed to them
without the jadedness of a dark cloud
of preconceptions hanging over them –
they are the ones who have always been
responsible for giving our world
the gift of pure inspiration,
ingenuity, and innovation
in the many levels of every day life
that different people live upon.

The best stories ever written
are of extraordinary people
overcoming a stereotypical boundary
that ultimately leads everybody
who learns of their story
to be inspired and choose to emulate them
and follow in their footsteps…
I believe that if you are someone
who is “different” from everybody else
then you should feel proud…
monsters, trolls, and bullies are different
and they are treated differently –
which is why people who suffer
from being singled out
often plague others with the same toxicity
as they are daily exposed to.

In my opinion, if you are different
from everybody else then
you truly are “special”
in every sense of the word –
and I have always believed that
when you embrace you own
individual eccentricities
then you may find that you share
more with other people around the world
who already know who and what they are
and who choose to let the light of their
multicolored soul shine like
the constituents of depth
that give light to a star.

My Poem “The Perfect Blend”

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

I am the rebel, and you are the angel…
I am the sun, and you are the moon…
I am the singer, and you are the song…
I am the day, and you are the night…
you like apples, I like androids…
you love music, I love words…
you dream of us going to rock concerts,
while I dream of us taking a journey
to other worlds…
you love roses, I love sunrises…
your favourite colour is green,
while my favourite colour is blue.

We come from different countries…
we talk with different accents…
we have experienced different things…
we have met different people…
we have been on many different
roller-coaster rides in our lives –
but, no matter where we come from,
no matter what we have done,
I know that you and I were brought together
to love one another for a reason…
from the moment that we met
I knew that I would never be the same again,
from the moment that I looked into your eyes
there was no doubt in my mind or in my heart
that we had been waiting for one another,
so that we could save one another
and bring true love and joy
into the lives of each other,
and forever give meaning to each other
in ways that we had always wanted.

Together I know that we could overcome any obstacle…
together I know that you and I could be happy
no matter where we were…
together I know that we both shine a light
and are an inspiration for one another…
together, since we met each other,
I know that we have been writing
a great love story of highs and lows,
of twists and turns, of hope and happiness,
of passion, of optimism,
of hot summer days, of cold winter nights,
and I promise you that nothing and no one
will ever keep us from being together –
because, to me, you and I are on a journey
that will never end…
and though we may seem like opposites,
the truth is that we are the best of each other –
and, in my opinion, we are the perfect blend.

My Poem ‘Back down to Earth’

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

I’m back now…
my second home is now
4000 miles away again…
I’m back below the clouds…
I feel like I am a man of two minds:
one, a proud Englishman;
and another, someone who feels at home
in Georgia, in the United States of America,
where there is more opportunity
to do anything, at any time of the day,
and at any given moment
as there are lanes on a highway.

I’m back where everybody drives on the left,
instead of on the right…
I’m back where I was born –
however, there isn’t a moment
when I do not miss the light of my day,
the light of my night,
the light of my life,
back there where you can see
fireflies flying and glowing
against the stars of a twilight sky.

I’m back wearing jeans –
however, only days before
and for two weeks-straight,
I had been wearing shorts
morning, noon, and night,
and getting touched on the skin
by the heat and the light of the sun…
I’m back walking down familiar paths
and sitting in the same chairs
in the same places that I know every inch of –
however, though I am awake and writing
here in England, I am also projecting myself
back to Georgia with Melissa
and dreaming along with her
and surrounded by the scent of a burning candle
that smells like coffee
when its wick burns and its wax melts.

I’m back where there are not as many drive-throughs
as there are in the US;
here in the UK, for example,
if we want to withdraw some money from our bank-account,
or if we want to pick up a prescription from a pharmacy,
we have to actually walk to somewhere –
however, in the US you can get money,
you can pick up your prescription,
as easily and as speedily
as you can order take-out food,
and you don’t even have to leave
the comfort of the driving-seat of your car.

Both the US and the UK share many things in common,
but there are many wonderful differences
that set them apart…
we have different names for the same things:
in the US, people seem to find more time
to celebrate and remember the liberty
and the freedoms that they are
constitutionally entitled to…
both the US and the UK even have
different forms of humour
and things that they find funny,
but both the US and the UK know
the true joy that comes with sharing experiences
together as friends and as a family,
and why it is important to smile and to laugh.

Both the US and the UK have for centuries now
shared a “special-relationship” with one-another,
and from my perspective and from my experience
our commonalities have no limit
to their importance and worth…
to me, both the US and the UK
are two sides of the same coin,
they are two halves of the same heart,
and I feel and I know with all my soul
that the US and the UK are bound to each-other
in more ways than could ever be described –
and when I am away from both the UK and the US
there are things and there are people
that I miss more than others,
but it is my knowledge
of what makes both the US and the UK
so special that always makes me smile
and always brings me back down to Earth.

My Poem ‘The Meaning’

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

As with most things
it all begins in our eyes
and with what and whom
we see with our eyes…
as with most things
we all come to things,
places, people,
from different directions
and at different times…
as with most things
there are always things
that we regret…
as with most things
a part of something
always remains within
the heart and the soul of something
even after the outer-layers
have withered away and died.

Humanity is fragile…
every day of a person’s life
they are in a constant state of change;
humanity by nature is fallible…
every day of their life
a person can do things
that when looked upon in retrospect
they would see them as a collage of mistakes;
everybody is prone to repetition
and we value our routines;
we are all so caught up in our own lives sometimes
that we are mostly oblivious
to the changing of the times
and the rhythms of life.

A life is full of meaning,
even if you can’t see it:
music, children, love, sport, art,
work can give a person’s life what they need…
no two people live the same life in the same way…
no one and nothing ever stops changing…
what matters the most in life
is what you find in the moments of silence
when there is no sound, music, or talking –
there and then is where you find
what lies within your heart
and what you cannot live without
because of the way that it fills
your life with such meaning.

My Poem ‘The Hummingbird House’

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

Standing in a room
surrounded in every direction
by flying hummingbirds;
the childhood dream
of a little girl walking
through a vast field of yellow daises
beneath a cloudless bright-blue sky;
standing on a green hilltop
looking down at your home below;
the adventure of a not-yet
grown up boy’s life-time,
and a return to a place
that he knows so well
it is almost as indelibly under his skin
it could almost be a tattoo;
on a cold winter’s day
the light shines differently
than it does at the same time of day
during the summer;
people change just as much as the seasons do;
a simple act of kindness can be something
that some people hold on to for luck
like a four-leafed clover;
when you become intoxicated by a moment
time goes wonderfully slow.

Dreams are our life’s internal movie-theatre;
our dreams are like the software
that runs the most powerful super-computer;
emotions are our way of interpreting
the meaning of what we see,
what we hear, what we feel,
and what we think;
all of our memories share and are
connected to an infinite number of mutual links.

Two different people
can look up at the same cloudy sky
and see two radically different formations;
a hundred people can be in the same place
at the same time for many different reasons;
a thousand people could each give you
a thousand and one different answers
to the same question;
all of human-kind begins anew
a different cycle every time
there is the rise of a new generation.

A house made of glass tells no lies,
but at the same time is precious to the touch
because of what it is;
a rose is one of the most beautiful gifts of nature,
but it also has the means to protect itself;
to me, someone with a thousand books to read
is richer than someone with a thousand dollars to spend;
a dream that has come true for you
is also known by another name: happiness;
heaven is a story that has no end;
everybody and anybody who has ever stopped
and stood, and who has ever looked
at a beautiful sight with an open mouth,
knows intimately what it is like
to have been inside a hummingbird house.

My Poem ‘In the mood’

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

We all have to be in the mood for things;
we all want certain things when we feel a need;
we all have different tastes,
and, depending on what time of the day it is,
we all have different cravings;
we all need a cocktail of many things
to grow and flourish, like a plant from a seed.

Some days you are in the mood for tea;
some days you are in the mood for coffee;
sometimes you are in the mood for music;
sometimes you are in the mood for poetry;
some days you are in the mood to wear something red;
some days you are in the mood to wear something black;
sometimes you are in the mood for garlic bread;
sometimes you are just in the mood for a snack.

A particular song can put you in a mood for something;
a particular smell can put you in a mood of nostalgia,
like the aroma of fresh flowers on a sunny day in spring;
a particular memory can put you in a mood to relive old times;
a particular object that you hold in your hand
can put you in a mood to return to a pace you once visited
that has a significance and an importance that still chimes.

What you are in the mood for can sometimes come out of nowhere;
what you are in the mood for can be something
that you have wanted for a short time;
what you are in the mood for might be an experience that is rare;
what you are in the mood for, just the thought of which,
can send shivers down your spine.

Everyone has their moods;
everybody has an outward impression of an inward feeling
that they sometimes unknowingly exude;
everyone has a multitude of interests, feelings,
and can respond or react in any way they choose;
everybody has something that they do
and something that they want,
and that can be the same as always and predictable,
or something new and spontaneous –
it all depends on how we all feel when we are in the mood.