A Poem A Day #564: The Environment of Nature

“The Environment of Nature” 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

A Poem A Day #563: Expect the Unexpected

“Expect the Unexpected” 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

A Poem A Day #562: My Muses

“My Muses” 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

‘The Wolf in Me’ by Mark Hastings – audio book: Chapter Eleven

In this episode, Mark recites Chapter Eleven of his 2017 novel, The Wolf in Me. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

A Poem A Day #561: Self-reflection

“Self-reflection” 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

A Poem A Day #560: Transitional

“Transitional” 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 “Within Me, Without You”

This is the first Father's Day
that my Dad has not been with me
and when I have not been with my Dad...
this is the first Father's Day
that I will be unable to hold my Dad's hand
and give him a well-deserved hug...
this is the first Father's Day
that I won't get to look into
my Dad’s blue eyes and see
shining from them a light
of enduring love...
this is the first Father's Day
that I will be unable to see my Dad's smile
and celebrate how amazing a father
he has always been -
and that makes me extremely sad.

Every day, more than anything,
I wish that my Dad was still with us...
this Father's Day, I feel gratitude
as well as pain -
because I know how lucky I was
that my Dad was my Dad,
but he has passed on
to the world beyond
and because he is no longer
where he always was -
by my side -
there are times when I
look around at the world
and I feel deeply lost.

My father will always be
a force of nature to me - 
someone who all my life
has influenced my thoughts and actions,
and who will never stop inspiring me...
my Dad continues to speak to me
through my dreams,
through his teachings,
through what he gifted me,
through the numerous talismans
that he left behind that will
forever tie him to me...
this Father's Day,
I feel as if I am walking in the dark -
but with an ever-glowing light
that all my life has tied me to what
has always been constant and true...
this Father's Day, as well as every day,
I feel, more than words could ever say,
that I can hear the voice of my Dad
within me, guiding me;
and to my Dad, on Father's Day,
I want to say that I love you,
I miss you, and that life will never again
be the same without you.

A Poem A Day #558: Big Heart

“Big Heart” 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

A Poem A Day #557: Day of the Poet

“Day of the Poet” 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 Flash”

Whether it is my thoughts,
my emotions, my feelings,
or every part of my body -
from my head to my toes -
my mind is, and has always been,
active and racing away with itself...
since I was a child, I have always
been fast on my feet,
fast with my fingers,
fast with my legs,
fast with my arms -
as if I had an internal lighting-bolt
propelling me that never needed to be recharged...
growing up, the natural spark within me
energised me with this
insatiable need for speed
and to break through every one
of the barriers that tried
to stop me in my tracks...
I have always had access to this
invisible and yet tangible force
capable of inspiring ideas
as well as giving me all that I needed
to exceed my limits
and to reach for the stars...
everybody who has ever known me
would tell you that no matter
what I am putting my heart,
my mind, my body, and my soul into
then I will not slow down, nor deviate,
until I have achieved something
that is beyond what I had intended...
I have learned the hard way
that sometimes you have
to make the most of every moment,
as if every experience was your last -
and that is why, just like people,
or like instances of time,
now you see me, now you don't,
I am here, there, everywhere,
and then gone again in a flash!