hope

My Poem “Go!”

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

On your marks, get set, go!
Last year is now in the past,
the ball has dropped,
the fireworks have lit up the sky,
and now we all get to find out
more about the undiscovered
possibilities of life that do not yet know!

Living is what Life all about –
sometimes in life you have
got to go with flow and hold on
through all the twists and the turns
of the stream of time that wind
to eventually find what awaits you
on the other side of the new journey
that you started with a clear
and hopeful view of
where your thoughts,
your dreams, your choices,
and your actions would take you.

Life is a race that you can only
run at your own pace,
which you can only have an opinion of
if you choose to be a part of.

Life on planet Earth is a beautiful
sphere of infinite possibilities
spinning and hurtling through space
that everybody should learn to love
just like everybody should learn to except
the perfect uniqueness of their own face.

Life is not always a walk in the park,
and though you may not always be ready
for what it throws your way
as long as every day
you can say with your
hand on your heart that
you will try your hardest
to be the best version of yourself
that you can be then everything
that eventually happens
will absolutely have been won fairly
will have been well earned.

Like a runner at the instant
just after they hear
the BANG of a starting pistol,
everybody alive who has
the opportunity to live a good life
should always be fully committed,
ready, set, when they have to
tell themselves that they have got to
put their best foot forward and not stop
until they reach the finish line
of fulfilling their hopes and dreams,
from the moment that they hear the call: Go!

Happy New Year, everybody! 😊

My Poem “The Season of Perpetual Hope”

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

Merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope you have a great Christmas Day!
I hope you get what you want,
I hope you get what you need,
I hope you get what you have always wanted,
and I hope that you enjoy your time
with your nearest and dearest
and I hope that every hour
is full of love, joy, happiness,
music, and limitless festive cheer!

I hope you smile, I hope laugh,
I hope you enjoy the food, the drink,
and the precious gifts of moments in time
that you share with those who know you
and who care for you
and who know you the most!
I hope the sun shines down on you today!
I hope you experience moment after moment
of intoxicating interconnection
that reminds you to cherish
every memory that you make
with everybody who could never be replaced!

I hope that all the people who you love,
who you unfortunately cannot be with physically,
know just how much they mean to you,
that you could never live without them,
and that no matter where in the world
we all are there is nothing that can stop
the power of love and devotion!

This is the day when we all wish
that we could say what we really want to say,
when we wish we could express
to certain people in our lives
what they mean to us –
but most of the time it is the thought
that someone in particular is in your life
and the fact that they tell you
that they want to be there for you
which says more than any words could ever describe!

This is the season when some people
realise what brings true joy into their lives,
and when they understand
what the true message of the season is:
because Christmas time, to me at least,
is the season of unconditional love,
it is the season of unlimited joy,
it is the season of unfathomable beauty –
and in my opinion every moment of every day
should be one unending and timeless season
when everyone can experience miracles
of happiness and perpetual hope
when and where they least expect them.

My Poem “Beacons of the Season”

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

The season of Christmas
doesn’t truly begin for me
until I am decorating
and turning on the lights
of our family Christmas tree…
it has been a tradition
for as long as I can remember
for me to be the one
who retrieves the Christmas tree
from the attic and hangs
all the tinsel and the baubles
in an always unique and random fashion,
and I enjoy every moment
because I love the thought
of creating a brand new piece
of festive art that makes people smile
and draws the attention of everybody
and fills them with a sense of awe.

My family has had a couple
of Christmas trees throughout my life;
however, we never had a real pine tree –
so I have never had the experience
of having to periodically clean up
fallen pine needles from the floor,
but I have been fortunate
on many occasions
to have taken a walk through
a forest of still growing pine trees
so I am fully aware of the intoxicating
and calming fragrance of their aroma –
and every time I get to inhale
that distinctive smell of pine
I find that it always
opens a door within my mind
to tastes, to sounds, to feelings,
and to experiences that to me define
what is so special about
Christmas time.

I believe that there is nothing else
that symbolizes the hope
that everybody wishes to find
at this time of the year
than the multicolored lights
of a Christmas tree
shining in the darkness of twilight
and reminding everyone
who gaze upon them
that all is never lost –
because I believe that every source of light
is a beacon of optimism
that anyone can use
to find their way back to a place
that can call home at any hour
of the day or the night.

My Poem “The Heart of A Family”

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

There are some things in this life
that cannot be predicted…
there are moments in our lives
that we never want to see repeated…
there are some things and some people
that we all sometimes take for granted…
there are truly terror-inducing,
fear-filled, horrifying and shocking
things that happen to fathers,
to brothers, to sisters, to mothers –
to members of a family –
that have the power of a lightning-bolt,
the gravity of a star, and the explosive
impact of a bomb being detonated
to bring people to their knees.

When terror and tragedy strike
time is always of the essence…
when there is the fear that
someone could lose their life
every action of every second is precious…
when someone’s heart stops beating
the split-second instincts
of a stranger could mean everything…
when a chaotic event takes place
the present and the future
of a person’s life can depend upon
so many disaparate pieces of a puzzle
coming together, to work together,
to give something to someone else:
to restart a person’s heart,
to breathe life back into the lungs of someone, in my opinion,
is nothing short of a miracle,
because giving the gift of life,
so that someone may carry on
living and breathing once again,
is truly incredible and phenomenal in every way.

So many things run through a person’s mind
when they hear that something
out of their control has happened
to someone that they love…
so many different scenarios
are considered and so many
things are thrown into the air
in order to find out who or what
was to blame for what happened,
and for what mostly could not have been foreseen;
however, ultimately, the truth about every one of us is that
no one is untouchable,
everybody is vulnerable –
and when the life of somebody
who is important to a group of people
is threatened in some way
it becomes greatly apparent
whom it is who stands, sustains,
and is the driving force
at the heart of a family.

Dedicated to my Dad
My Dad

My Poem “Kids These Days’

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

Kids these days have never had it so good…
kids these days spend a lot of their time,
apparently, Tik-Toking along to their favourite songs,
Instagraming their favourite selfies,
streaming their favourite music videos
and commenting on the social media content
of so-called “influencers” who
have opinions that some young people
take noticed of and listen to
more so than even their parents,
and the majority of the interactions
that take place mostly happen
when sharing some Face Time
by using an app on their mobile-phones
that connects them over the internet
to their close-by and far away friends.

Kids these days are spoilt for choice
when it comes to choosing
what to watch, what to read,
and what they can do –
however, no matter the riches
at their fingertips, kids today
still never fail to arrive at moments
when they express that they feel bored
and that “there is nothing to do”.

Kids these days have got so much more
than what a kid growing up
in the 1980s or the 1990s
could ever have dreamed of –
however, as with every kind
of overabundance,
there is a danger that hides in plain
sight that kids these days
do not see until it is too late:
the false perspective that
appearances are what matter the most
and that you must occasionally
wear a mask to hide
the fear of nonconformity
that some kids and some adults
these days suffer through on
a regular basis.

It is sometimes hard to live
a happy life and to be accepting
of who you are in this modern
world of instant communication
and sharing of self-expression,
and it is easier now than ever
for people to attack others
and leave indelible scars
upon the psyche of innocent people
who just want to use their right
to express their feelings about something –
and unfortunately it is also easier than ever
to be made to feel isolated and alone
without anywhere to go
or anybody to turn to:
which is the dark side
of this constantly online world
that we live in.

I just hope that one day
we as a society will find a way
to demonstrate to the up-and-coming
generation that true happiness
lies in discovering how
individually special a person is
and that everybody can be
a truly valued member of the human race
by just being themselves
and by making the most of what they are born with
without judgment or alienation
because of how different they may be.

I just hope that the next generation of children
will learn to magnify and show
the best of what lies within them
and not dwell too longingly upon
what they have no control over –
especially sensitive adults and children
who live with insecurities
and things that they don’t like
about themselves,
and what they think about
morning, noon, and night –
and I just hope and pray
that one day the kids of tomorrow
will know a life free of
what some kids and some adults today
worry about and obsess over
every single day.

My Poem “Synchronicity”

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

Hope for the best…
be the best at what you do…
look for the best in everything…
make the best of what comes to you.

Every day is a test…
every day is a puzzle…
every day is both simple and complex…
every day is one of an infinite number
in the age of the universe –
and yet every day is special in some way,
shape, or form, because every day is not
the same as any other…
every day is as precious
and as ephemeral and as transient
as a dream or a bubble.

In this life, you have to be prepared
for the unexpected – but, at the same time,
be flexible and mindful that whatever plans
you make may need some slight adjustments
along the way in order to make them
come to fruition…
in this life, you sometimes have to use
your intuition about something
in order to give you the much needed
motivation to not be disheartened
by the negative voices
that are sometimes directed
in your direction.

Being a dreamer does not mean
that you live in a fantasy –
every idea that ever became
a reality was once the dream
and the wish of someone with a vision
of a world that they could one day
influence and leave their mark upon.

Being human means that you sometimes
have to see the end before the beginning,
you have to leap before you look,
you have to let your mind wander
and let your thoughts influence your actions,
you have to fall on your face,
get back up, and never stop
believing in the good that can come
from following and using your inner
search engine of inspiration –
filled with a life-time of moments,
images, sounds, and feelings –
that is your life and has the power
to influence the course of your life
far into the future and give you
the answer, the truth, the path,
the direction that will one day
synchronize and symbolize
every moment of your life.

My Poem “The Penny”

Mark Hastings life, me, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I found a penny on the ground,
glowing metallic brown,
shining in the light of the sun,
and it was because of that
golden light from above
that brought this penny
to my attention
and made me reach down
to retrieve this symbol of luck.

Somebody’s loss, my gain,
and an opportunity
from which I never walk away,
nor ever overlook,
because I have always
believed that finding a penny
and picking it up
was a fast-track way
of receiving good fortune
for the rest of the day.

I am someone who
sees the value of something
beyond what it is monetarily worth,
and instead I like to believe
the story, the rhyme,
and the superstition
that a momentary encounter
with a copper-colored disc,
and the lowest denomination
of most of the worlds currencies,
can lead to something wonderful,
unexpected, inspiring,
and a perhaps life-changing
set of future circumstances;
however, that hope and that belief
probably comes part in parcel
with being an optimist like me
who sees a restorative glow
to most things – even those things
as small, hard to lose, and seemingly
worthless as a simple penny.

My Poem “Deus ex Poetica”

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

Wishes and prayers come from hope…
inspiration rises when a feeling is set free…
memories and emotions are like ghosts…
poetry comes from God, and God comes from poetry.

Nobody has ever asked God why they created the universe –
but nobody should ever ask an artist
why they create the art that they make,
because, most of the time, an artist
is only following their instincts
and trying to capture a feeling, an experience,
or an emotion that they want to share.

An artist can spend years living in darkness –
and then, light, life, an idea,
an entire universe can instantly come into being
and start a chain-reaction that expands without end
before their eyes, and build a reality
of its own, layer by layer.

There is always someone listening…
there is always someone watching…
there is always someone thinking,
dreaming, and imagining something new…
there is always someone waiting…
there is always someone anticipating…
there is always someone creating
magic from out of the blue.

Everything is what it is for a reason…
everybody is who they are because who they are
is who they are meant to be…
everyone who is anyone has at least once in their life
opened their heart, closed their eyes,
dug down deep within themselves, touched their own soul,
and returned to the world with something about themselves
that they never knew they possessed.

When an artist first becomes an artist,
what they feel, what they see,
and what they know drives their emotions
and their imagination, can sometimes be scary –
however, the more that an artist creates,
the more that they want to create…
artists are constantly driving to inspire
a feeling in someone else because of the echo
of a feeling of that which inspired them –
comedians receive such a feverish reaction
to their art when they inspire
an audience of people into laughter.

God has always been
the greatest artist anyone has ever known…
since the beginning – when they created
the heavens and the Earth –
every day God’s greatest creation – Life –
continues to evolve and be reinterpreted
over and over again, and it will continue to be –
because Life will always be the greatest masterpiece
ever envisioned or created, just as it has been
since the beginning of time
when God created poetry.

My Poem “The Shining Light”

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

Seventeen years ago,
when the whole world looked at the images
being shown on television,
it felt like we were all witnessing
the world coming to an end
as we watched twinned towers fall to the ground…
nobody knew what they were seeing,
nobody knew what was going to happen next…
I can still see in my mind’s eye
the scenes of devastation,
I can still hear the sounds of fear
that echoed from one of our planet’s
greatest and most courageous nations…
tears were shed, and they continue to be shed to this day…
lives were lost on an unimaginable scale,
and to this day people all around the world
still have nightmares about the tragic events
of September 11, 2001, and they always will.

Five years ago, I stood where the shadows
of the two towers of the World Trade Center
once fell, in New York City,
where two giant pools of water now ripple
in their footprints and are refilled continuously –
and though surrounded all around by people
who had also come to pay their respects,
remember, and read the memorialized names
of all the people who lost their lives
on that day of days that could never be forgotten,
it was as I stood there looking down at the pools,
it was as I stood there looking around at everyone,
and it was as I stood there looking up
to the Freedom Tower that now stands
like a beacon of hope for all the world to be guided by
that I found myself overwhelmed by remorse, by sadness,
and also by a powerful spirit that spoke
directly to my heart and soul.

The power of hope, the gift of freedom,
the opportunity of optimism,
the wonderland of dreams that is the United States of America
will never be brought to their knees –
no matter what their enemies try to do to them…
the people of the United States of America will continue
to live, to endure, and to fight for what they believe in,
and they will continue to stay standing true, strong,
defiant, hopeful, and confident that they are
and they always will be a shining light
of aspiration and inspiration for the entire world.

My Poem “Rough”

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

There will be so many people
sleeping rough with a hard pavement
as their place of rest this Christmas…
There will be so many homeless men and women
sleeping on park benches
or on the green grass of public places
as they try to stay alive
as best that they can over the festive season…
There are so many people who I see daily,
weekly, sitting or lying on the ground
with their heads as low as they can go
who look as if they have given up
and as if they have lost any sense of hope:
people who feel like living on the streets
is their only option
because they have nowhere else to go…
I cannot imagine how it must feel
to live such a life of desperation –
there are people who do give whatever they can
to people who are homeless,
and there are even churches
requesting anyone who can
to donate a coat that they no longer wear
so that someone who hasn’t got one
and someone who needs one can have one…
I have asked myself many times
what the answer is to this troubling
epidemic of homeless people
that is endemic to big cities
all around the world –
from New York City in the U.S.A.
to Birmingham in the U.K. –
and the unfortunate reality
that always presents itself to me
is that there is no silver arrow idea
that could completely put an end
to the problems felt and carried every day
within the heart and the mind
of those who live on the street…
All the money in the world is not enough,
love alone is not enough,
and time is not always the greatest of healers
to a long-term problem…
Life is not always easy for anybody –
however, I believe that we as human beings
need to start turning our attention
more to those people who feel like
they do not have much,
those people who need to be given a hand
and lifted up off of the ground:
those people for whom life is as hard
as the ground that they sleep upon
each and every night,
and those people for whom every day of their life
is as rough as it could ever be.