instincts

My Poem “Sacrifice”

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

These are crazy times…
these are the days that we hoped would never come…
these are the times when people are
acting on their survival instincts… these are the days that we will hopefully
one day look back upon and marvel at
humanity’s collective ability
and each of our own individual capacity
to do all that we feel like we need to do
when faced with a crisis that we cannot control
but which we can play our part in finding
a way through the thick fog
of what we do not understand.

Each of us recognise that the time
we are living through now
most of the time feels like a struggle…
each of us know that feeling of distress,
of disappointment, of depression
that rears its ugly head and rises
to the surface of our minds
when we are hindered from doing
what we want to do, going where
we want to go, being with who
we want to be with –
there are people staring out their windows within the safety of their home,
there are doctors, nurses, patient care techs
who are working long shifts in hospitals
who wish that they did not have to be so far away from their loved ones,
but who are all choosing to do
what they feel they need to do
to beat the threat that feels like
it has engulfed the world
and which is praying on people
young and old from every walk of life.

As Winston Churchill once said:
“This is not the end.
It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” –
and it is this quote that has been
carrying me through these times,
and I am sure that these words
I will continue to repeat to myself
as the chaotic times of our present predicament
continue to change and ask of us
to be strong, to be safe, to be mindful,
and to be the best version of ourselves
and to not choose to give in to fear
and to the dark side of human nature
that some people dwell upon
and act upon because they cannot help themselves…
the human race will survive
what we are all going through…
the human race has had to deal with
and live through atrocities
of our own making because of human action
or inaction before and we will one day
get the chance to reflect upon these times, these days, this real-life nightmare
and find a way to live with our own sacrifice.

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My Poem “Trekker”

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

I have always been a trekker…
whether it be through a city of stars
or across an ocean of light,
I have always allowed my thoughts,
my dreams, and my instincts
to dictate what I should do and when…
over the years I have unflinchingly
taken leaps into the unknown
and jumped instantaneously
through swirling wormholes
of many colours to places
of hope and adventure…
over my life I have looked
to the stars to guide my way –
like the seafarers of old –
and every time I saw the torches
of destiny align along the road of fate,
seemingly for me,
I never hesitated to believe
that I could follow the example
of my heroes and decide
to make a difference come what may…
I was instilled with a feeling
of hopefulness, optimism,
and a strength of spirit
and self-belief from the time
that I was a small child –
and as I grew, as I looked around,
as I observed, and as I wondered
why the universe was the way that it was
I naturally began to imagine
that I saw more than
what my eyes told me I was seeing,
and that is why when I look
at the vast darkness of space
I see an opportunity to be inspired
and not a reason to feel fear…
I enjoy reading, watching, and reliving
the stories of pathfinders,
explorers, voyagers, and those people
who have a natural inclination
to go where no one has gone before,
to do what no one has done before,
and those who find ways of achieving
the impossible simply by using
all that they have at their disposal
to start upon a quest
that should only be embarked upon
by those who are the personification
and the embodiment of a true trekker.


“Live Love and Prosper”

My Poem “Dopamine”

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

Every biological organism –
from an insect to a bird,
from a fish to a lizard,
from a dog to a human being –
is driven inextricably
by their instincts
and by the reaction
that they are genetically
predisposed to have
to certain types of stimulus:
certain smells, certain sounds,
certain tastes, certain textures,
certain frequencies,
certain configurations of facial
details, and every response
by everybody is personal
and sometimes beyond their control.

Sometimes the emotions of a typical
biological organism –
those of the loving parents
of a child, for example –
can be triggered so delicately
and yet so profoundly, instantaneously,
following the inhaling of their
new-born baby’s natural aroma,
which as a response completely
overcomes all rational thoughts
and normal actions of behaviour
that they might usually
commit themselves to
and they can be irrevocably changed,
and which only adds to the natural
parental bond that is formed
without any necessary thought.

When people fall in love with someone
whom they have just met
the immediate rise in heart-rate,
breathing, blood-pressure,
and the mist of thought
that blurs out everything and everybody
other than the one who every one
of your feelings, your senses
and your instincts are focused solely upon
are but the first indications
that someone feels a lust, a crush,
a thrust of energy that is as natural
to life as the heat and the light from the sun.

It has been proven many times
by many different experts over the years
that when people start to lose
certain natural, biological,
and psychologically sustaining,
messages, responses, filters,
and internal mechanisms that
control certain involuntary impulses
within them that people can slowly
but surely start to become slower
in how they anticipate certain things
happening and less capable of making
independent choices and decisions
that continue the natural equilibrium
of thoughts, feelings, and emotions
that make them who they are
and who they were at their prime.

Over time every form of biology
changes from one state of being
to another – sometimes as a response
to extreme environmental entropy
and the chaos of a world seemingly
at war with itself –
and just like what we feel,
what we see, what we hear,
what we think about bleeds
into everybody’s dreams,
it is hard to stop the rush,
to stop the stream,
and to temper the tide
that is the surge of dopamine.

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 “Autopilot”

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

During the day when I am at work
I feel like I am on autopilot –
while at night I feel free to be,
free to live how I want to live,
and free to dream while still awake
about the things that complete
my heart and make me happy.

Cycles and routines define our existence
in this modern age, as they always have
in one way or another, in some shape or form…
most living things have their own preference
when it comes to when they feel
the most energized and alive –
some feel their most inspired
while gazing up at a sky of starlight,
while others feel invigorated
when the first light of the sun breaks at dawn.

Sometimes we do things so often, day after day,
that they become second nature to us
and we do them without even thinking…
when something or someone becomes
a constant in our lives
we can come to believe that
a life without them in it would not be worth living.

There are times in our lives when we need to make a choice,
but we don’t know how to make it –
and when that predicament occurs
each and every one knows that we can allow destiny
to choose for us and let God take the wheel of our life
and steer us in the direction that we are fated to take.

Autopilots are great… autopilots are amazing…
autopilots are a simple solution to a complex problem –
however, where is the living? Where is the fun?
Where is the imagination that comes out of the random?
Life can sometimes be predictable
and what happens next can sometimes be predicted,
and there is nothing wrong with that –
however, in my experience, nothing can ever compare
to the act of spontaneity and living in the moment.

Sometimes, because we think that we can predict
the outcome of something, we can become complacent
and we no longer expect the unexpected –
and, in a way, that is a good thing,
because when something happens that our inner autopilot
does not know how to deal with
each of us is forced to adapt and think outside the box
that we sometimes feel trapped within,
and we must do what we human beings do best:
live, dream, imagine, and act on our instincts.

My Poem “Sapiophile”

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

There is always more than meets the eye…
there is always more to life
than any of us could ever quantify…
there is always more than you alone can find…
there is always more to a person
that is constantly waiting to come to light…
there is always history… there is always mystery…
there is always entropy –
however, there is always the improbability of nature
that always surprises us and maintains a natural balance
of order that has worked perfectly for billions of years
which gives everyone an opportunity
to see what they believe and to believe what they see…
there is always complexity in simplicity…
there is always music in silence –
even within the space that lies
between the stars of the galaxies of the universe
there can always be heard a cosmic symphony
that encapsulates the true meaning of life,
love, music, that plays so emphatically
that its beauty can be too much for some to comprehend
without feeling the fear that sometimes rises
from within those who gaze into the vastness of infinity…
there is something about the world
that always captures a person’s imagination
and makes them want to know more –
that which comes from our inner instincts and drives
to explore beyond our boundaries and leap
into a world far removed from the one that we know
and see every day in order to learn and understand
something wonderful that we never knew before
but which we had always been searching for.

My Poem “Senses”

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

When looking for inspiration,
like the petaled head of a flower,
sometimes we have to face the sun
and let its light open our eyes…
when looking for inspiration,
like a bat flying through
the dark sky of night,
sometimes we have to use
our senses to guide us
when we find ourselves
in a state of diminished sight…
when looking for inspiration,
like a young child exploring the world
of their surroundings for the first time,
sometimes we have to search, pick things up,
question what something is and what it means…
when looking for inspiration,
like a college student about to embark upon
a journey of further knowledge
and a greater understanding of what life is all about,
sometimes we have to take a leap into the unknown
and have faith in ourselves and in the power of our dreams…
when looking for inspiration,
like a hummingbird to a bird-feeder,
sometimes we have to return to the same places
over and over again in order to discover
things that we might have missed…
when looking for inspiration,
like the planet that we live upon and with,
sometimes we have to make amends with nature,
we have to embrace every new day and opportunity
as if it were a new friend
and allow everything that you gravitate towards
for whatever reason to influence your thoughts
and invigorate your senses.

My Poem “Transient Existence”

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

Human beings are a naturally
transient species…
We are all always on the move…
Human beings have come a long way
since our ancestors ventured out
of the ocean and on to land
and then up into the trees…
We are undeniably always
going to be a race of travellers and explorers,
and one day in the not too distant future
the first of us will leave Earth
and found the first colony on the moon…
Our entire genetic drive
is one that revolves around
and relies upon our instinct
to take a leap into the unknown
and discover a new world
of infinite possibilities…
Our inner-space, our mind, our spirit,
our consciousness, our imagination
thrives upon our internal aspirations
and their interactions with
our outside inspirations
as we go where we go
and as we do what we do
throughout our transient existence.

My Poem “My Basic Instincts”

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

My basic instinct is to love:
to love Melissa, to love my family,
to love life and all the gifts
and wonders that it provides…
My first instinct is to be optimistic:
to focus on the positive,
to look at things in a way that feels poetic,
profound, and as inspiring
as the sight of fire-light…
My basic instinct is to the think
about people and about things
and be inspired by them:
moments when a single thought
grows into the many words of an idea
are golden and they are as energizing
as a bolt of lightning
from the mysterious and inviting sky
that I see above me –
whether at night when it is dark,
or when the sun shines bright
and intensifies an already
beautiful blue sky…
In any sense of the word,
I am not a genius of intellect –
however, what and who I am
is a dreamer, a writer
and an artist who seeks out
and who follows the trails of breadcrumbs
and footprints that are there to be found,
until I find myself back where I began…
and it is then that I realize again
who I am and what are my basic instincts.

My Poem ‘Blind Love’

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

Love is blind…
blind love can be seen,
it can be felt,
it can be experienced,
by people, by animals,
by children, by pets…
someone and something
doesn’t even have to see you
in order for them to love you,
because they can see the real you
without having to use their eyes…
love exists in many forms –
it is bigger, deeper, and more meaningful,
and it can be said and shown
in ways more powerful than language.

If you own a dog, with every lick
that your dog gives you on your face
they are saying “I love you”…
with every look that your dog gives you
they are saying “you are the best thing
in the entire world”…
with every bark that your dog speaks…
with every spin and with every jump
that your dog does, they just want to show you
how much they would do for you…
when your dog protects you
and defends you against anybody and anything
that they think may cause you harm,
they are showing you that actions
do speak louder than words.

True love is unconditional…
real love is unbelievable…
love at first sight is physical,
but it soon becomes emotional
and something much more beautiful…
a love that lasts a life-time
is one that constantly sustains
and rejuvenates itself
by the fact that it feels so natural.

I believe that humanity can learn a lot about love
from observing how we are loved and appreciated
by the animals that we surround ourselves with…
during the early days of human evolution
many ancient cultures revered and worshiped
gods that took the form of animals of every kind…
some animals, in particular, have a reputation
for being a certain way, and by observing
how they act we can decode
what drives the engine of their psyche…
love is there to be found by everyone,
but “real love” should never revolve around
how much money someone has, nor where they are from…
we give our pets names, a home to call their own,
we give them food, water,
and a special place within our family –
and in return, if we treat them
as they are supposed to be treated,
they give us what each and every human being
hopes and prays to find in their life:
real, true, unconditional, magical, blind, love.