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My Poem “Liberty will never fall”

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

Humanity has lived through times
when we have looked at what was going on
around the world and we have had to
ask ourselves: what is going to happen next?
What does this all mean?
Is this the end of the world?
Times of plague and pandemic:
times of financial crisis; times of war;
times of terrorism – and in recent history,
apart from what we are all
living through right now,
I would have to say that the terrorist
attacks on the United States of America,
on September 11th, 2001, would have to be,
and will always be considered as,
one of the single most destructive
and world changing events
that we have ever known
and which will never be forgotten.

The events of that Tuesday afternoon
in September of 2001, when thousands
of people were killed as a result of terrorism,
have been ingrained within my mind,
and the world, for 19 years now –
and I can still remember exactly what I saw,
what I heard, and what I felt when
I witnessed, along with the world,
the last moments of life of innocent people;
and the subsequent attacks that have
taken place upon people who have done
nothing to nobody, as a result of a
ideology of fear, are deployable, cruel,
nonsensical, and grotesque.

One thing that should have been
made abundantly clear by now
to those who hate others so passionately,
by those who have been attacked
but who still continue to stand
and who still continue to the fight
the scurge of tyrrany that continues
to blight societies all around the world:
freedom is a gift, and nobody has the right
to spread fear, to intimidate others,
and to kill people who only want to be
who they were brought up
to want to be.

We all live on an interconnected world,
and we all have the right to think,
to dream, and to wish for things that we want;
but actions have consequences,
the world is not always simple to navigate,
and no one can do anything with impunity,
and if every peace-loving person works
together for the betterment of all mankind
then there will come a day
when the true gift of a free society,
liberty, will continue to rise
and will never fall.

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My Poem “The Individual”

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

Some seasons are easier
to get through than others…
some periods in our lives
are easier to ride out than others…
some days are more eventful than others…
some people are more comfortable
being themselves when they feel
like they have nothing to prove,
no one to prove anything to,
and no one to be other than
a friend, or a brother,
or a sister, or a son, or a daughter,
or a lover, or just someone
who will listen to someone else
who needs nothing more than
to be heard, to be understood,
and to be given the opportunity
by another person to let
themselves breath and be seen
without any kind of a mask,
a façade, or a filter.

People love being free…
freedom means everything
to those who appreciate
and understand why being
free is such a gift,
because for some people
around the world freedom is not
an guaranteed…
being free to believe
what you want to believe,
being free to do what you want to do,
being free to say what you want to say
has been restricted in some parts
of the world because some people
have misused it, they have abused it,
and they have taken it for granted…
being given the opportunity
to be able to live, to breath,
to see, and to enjoy the natural gift
of infinite wonders that is our beautiful planet
is something that so many people
do not choose to recognise
until someone is awakened
to a particular vision that opens up
a door within them that leads
to a part of them that can grasp
what nature has been constantly
trying to tell them and show them.

Ignorance of something or someone
is one of the most important
components in spreading fear –
which is why ignorance and ignorant people
are usually the most uneducated of people
because they actively and deliberately
choose to switch off from what is happening
to other people and would rather
live in a bubble in which their version
of the world is all that matters.

We all live in one of the most
interconnected times in human history –
and yet there are still people
who choose to not see things
from another person’s just as valid
and perhaps opposing point of view
just in case they find out
that there is more common ground
than is believed possible,
which is why meeting people
who live completely different
lives from you is important in
gaining a more fuller world view
and to discover new and valid ideas
that they never knew…
there are always multiple sides
to an argument, to a story,
to a people, to a country –
and it is the responsibility
of all free thinking people
to be progressive enough,
to be evolved enough,
to be individualistic enough
to take everything as it comes to them and to strive to be uniquely themselves
instead of just being predictable
and never stopping to think, to do,
nor to be anything, or anybody,
other than one of a crowd.

My Poem “Close to the Land”

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

So many people
feel this incredible draw
to nature, to the wilderness,
to the back to basics lifestyle
of living out the dream
of having a cabin in the woods
to call home, in the middle of nowhere,
and a backyard surrounded
by of acres of trees, plants,
and wildlife all living in
a state of balance with one another –
even from a young age,
so many people have this automatic,
undeniable, unflinching feeling
deep within them that
the place that they want to spend
most of their time is the same place
from which all of our ancestors
sprung from and had to endure,
traverse, and adapt to for centuries –
the forests, the jungles,
the snow-covered peaks of mountains,
the dry and arid deserts,
the extreme heat, the harsh cold;
and everywhere on Earth has its own
conditions that daily test a person’s
strength of will and their reason
for being where they are,
and why they choose to do what they do –
and for some people life comes down to
and revolves around that universal
drive to be free, to feel alive,
to look around, to understand life,
to connect with our origins
in ways that transcend
the mirage of the material world
of modern society so that
they can feel fulfilled
by the spirit of being awestruck,
and feel compelled to know more
about the environment
and the natural ecosystem of our planet,
and sometimes the only way to do so
is to venture into the wild
and live as close to the land
as anyone possibly can.

My Poem “Mobile Inspiration”

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

I find that I do some of my best
writing while I am mobile…
I find that I am my most inspired
while I am traveling,
while I am looking out of a window
at somewhere, at something,
that instantly steals my mind away…
I find great inspiration when I am
above the clouds traveling at
the speed of sound looking down at the ground
and wondering who I am looking down upon
and who is looking up towards me…
I find that my thoughts sometimes
go on their own journey to somewhere else entirely
that cannot be reached physically,
and I wonder if this is what heaven feels like –
when our consciousness and our spirit
has become separated from our bodies
and we are able to float freely anywhere
we want like a boat on the surface of a sea…
I find myself experiencing something supernatural,
something comforting, something mesmerizing,
something enlightening, something wonderful,
while I am autonomous, free, travelling, and mobile.

My Poem “Love the Love”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , ,

Love is free…
Love is the greatest gift
that you can give anybody…
Love should always come naturally…
Love is undefinable,
as is the feeling inside you
that someone special brings alive within you
when you think about them
and when you see them…
Love is the embodiment of divine intervention
and it is the most amazing power in the universe…
Love finds you when you need it the most…
Love can be a life saver…
Love can set your soul free…
Love is a bond that can never be severed…
Love is always what you are looking for
and when you find it you know with absolute certainty
that the one you love will always be enough
to make you happy – take it from me.

My poem ‘World War-free’

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

Why can’t we be a world war-free?
Why can’t we all just all understand one-another,
live in peace, and be a united beacon of hope
and camaraderie for the rest of the galaxy?
Why can’t all the leaders of every country on Earth
see that constant conflict should not be
what puts the “human” in “humanity”?
Why can’t we all, please, for once in our long history,
just collectively put aside our differences
and want the reality of our children’s future
to be a world that is war-free?

The heart and the soul of humanity
is an endless well within which you can find
the truth to every mystery and the answer
to every question that anybody has ever searched for…
we are one race, of two sexes,
made up of a multitude of colours
and shades of personality and culture…
within the very DNA code of our biology
you can find the family-line
and the infinite branches of the family-tree
of which we are connected to
and have been since our Earth’s first dawn…
we can only fulfill our God-given destiny
and our birthright if we all first choose
to not look back on the problems of the past
and learn to stop reinforcing
the grudges of our ancestors,
and focus on building a bright and beautiful future.

I want now to be when I see a new hope for us all rise,
instead of the sight of missiles and rockets
flying through the air
and ultimately causing destruction and carnage in their wake…
I want now to be when somebody up there from heaven,
or outer-space, comes down to Earth and makes us all realize
what the fate of the entire world will be
if we arrive at the time when we need world-wide unity
and collaboration, but we are too late…
I want now to be when we are lead forwards, not backwards –
when we fulfill the hope of the one who had a dream,
and the one who died because he believed in that dream…
I want now to be when all problems
can be solved by words, not weapons…
I want now to be the first day of a new beginning for humanity
when we finally come to the world-wide realisation
that our only hope of survival can only become a reality
if we can learn to work together to make a world
for all to live in and enjoy that is war-free.

My Poem ‘My Prayer’

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

When you want to do
something for someone
whom you love, but you can’t –
you can be made to feel powerless…
when someone whom you love
more than anything is in pain,
you can feel so unbelievably out of touch…
when you want to help someone
in any way that you can,
but whatever you do
could never be enough –
we, I fall to my knees
and I hold my hands together
and I pray to God…
I pray that those whom I love
will be healed and have their pain taken away –
I speak out-loud and I think of the one
who I will give all my hope,
and I promise to be there for them
when they feel at their lowest
and their most lost…
it’s agony to watch…
it’s hard to see…
it’s something that I would not wish
on my worst-enemy:
the sight, the image, the reality,
of somebody for whom
you would do anything for
struggling to speak
and feeling as if they
might at any moment collapse to the floor…
Why must this happen, God?
Why put someone through something so torturous?
Why cannot your angels help
those in need – is it truly necessary
for those in pain to ask?
Our time on Earth is precious,
and we all have choices to make –
but when we are struck-down
by something suddenly and painfully
we do not get a choice in that…
everybody whom I have known
to have given so much
throughout their life
are those who are hurting the most…
If I could be anybody,
if I could do anything,
I would choose to be a healer of people –
so that I could revitalise a person’s life
and remake them anew…
there is no reason for anybody
to suffer needlessly…
I pray to God that my loved-ones
will one day live a life
in peace and free of pain…
is it too much to ask
that those whom I love
may live without fear and be happy?
Please, God – I beg you…
we all need your healing love right now,
now more than ever…
life is a beautiful gift,
and to me it should not be wasted
on those who think that everything is a game…
Dear God, please heal those whom I love –
I would give anything, I would do anything…
this I promise, this I pray.

My Poem ‘The Purple Flame’

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

The Purple flame, the purple prince,
the purple reign, the purple spirit,
the purple light, the purple love,
the purple sight, the purple angel
who now flies free like a dove…
the purple revolutionary,
the soul, the purple poet, the purple poetry,
the purple energy flow,
the purple art, the purple artist,
the purple icon, the purple tempest…
we are all going to be basking in your glow
today and for all of the days of tomorrow…
I am imagining you right now
racing down a highway in heaven
with David Bowie and John Lennon
in a little red Corvette
against the backdrop of a purple sunset,
wearing a raspberry-coloured beret,
on your way to a place
where there is an ocean of inspiration
that is constantly being remade
by the diamond and pearl-like
droplets of purple rain.

You have left us,
but you are still here…
you have blessed us,
and we will remember you
every second that we hear
your transcendent music,
as we shed a tear…
you may be far away now,
but your message of love
still echoes all around the world…
you must be looking back at us now
through the clouds
and smiling to yourself
because you know that the magical gift of music
that you were a master of
is one of the universe’s must powerful cures.

The purple bird…
the purple fire…
the purple star…
the purple flower…
the purple dust…
the purple pulse that will always
flow back and forth through our veins
from our feet to our brains…
the purple night…
the purple day…
the purple life that we will always cherish
and we will always be in-awe of…
of the one of a kind prince of the purple flame.

Prince-thepurpleflame-date

My Poem ‘Ruminant’

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

A deer walking through a green wood;
a horse galloping across
a beautiful open expanse;
an eagle soaring and gliding
through the air above a vast herd of buffalo;
an adventurer trekking through a jungle,
with a pack full of all that they need
to survive in the wild,
as the raindrops fall on them
and down the lip of their coat’s hood;
a small dog resting outside in the sun
in their favorite spot,
with a look about them
that says that they are feeling
inconceivable emotions of happiness;
a writer writing
while listening to their muse of music,
writing rhymes as if each word
had its own distinctive sound to them,
that sound like
that of the notes of a musical instrument.

As with everything that is made up of
and from the combination of many ingredients,
all things must ruminate and coalesce
and be infused naturally over time
by the mixture of nature and identity;
just as the present is an echo of the past,
as well as a prelude for the future,
some things must always stay the same,
and if necessary thrive on being different –
because in life strict conformity
can be the true enemy.

Inspirational people
have taken countless people
on journeys throughout history,
and the stories of their deeds
have long out-lived them
and are read and retold every day
to a whole new generation
of free-thinking and inquisitive people
looking for answers to life’s questions,
far and wide;
writers, artists, musicians,
have been struck by instant and deep inspiration
while staring at a flower swaying in the breeze;
children have been recognized for being special
because they chose to work hard
and dig deep and go that extra mile;
animals are sometimes revered for being exceptional
because they represent and they talk
to the needs that we all feel
for contentment and connection
with our surroundings
based on our ever-present instincts.

When I truly allow my thoughts
to flow and to float,
they are like a big fluffy cloud in a blue sky;
when I truly open up
and let my feelings bubble up,
they can sometimes spread
like the waters of a flood;
when I truly focus on the journey,
and not the end, I believe and I know
that life for us all goes on,
even after we die;
when I truly live and breathe
every second of the one that I love,
I feel things that almost defy description
and definition – as if I were
a part of an infinite, amazing,
cosmologically-vast and meaningful meditation.

My Poem ‘Easy’

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

The sound of a certain someone’s voice,
the need that has no choice;
the sight of a certain someone’s face,
the feeling of loving someone
in so many different ways;
the memory of a certain song,
the meaning that lasts so long;
the plans of the future,
the never-ending embrace
of a perfect lover.

Like the music of your childhood,
like the movies of your youth,
like giving a drop of blood,
like knowing without proof,
like the games that held your attention for hours,
like the tastes that you could never get enough of,
like the transcendental perfection
of the opening petals of a flower,
like the best kind of love
that feels like it has fallen from heaven above.

The easy, the free, the open, the hopeful,
the fresh, the new, the sweet, the beautiful,
the relaxed, the focus, the muse, the opus,
the great, the amazing, the fate, the exciting,
the butterfly, the moth, the smooth, the soft.

When you finally have what you have always wanted,
when you finally know beyond doubt
what you have always thought of,
dreamed about, and wished for,
when your life-long desire is standing
and looking at you on the other side of your eyelids
giving you a kiss,
then you know more than you could have ever known before –
but one thing that you know for certain
is that when things that are amazing
and life-changing are happening because of someone,
every step that you take because of them
is like dancing to the sound
of the beat of a song on a dance-floor.

There are some things that you just can’t make up;
there are some things that have the heart
and the soul of a great poet’s epic poetry;
there are some things that can be said with a look;
there are some things that mean so much,
and if you want them to be
can be so easy.