A Journey Through Poetry #8: Dear Dad

This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections.

In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Dear Dad’, from his poetry collection The Pathfinder, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.

‘The Wolf In Us’ by Mark Hastings – Epilogue: “Goodbye, Olivia”

In this episode, Mark recites the Epilogue of his 2022 novel ‘The Wolf In Us’: “Goodbye, Olivia”. The sequel to his books ‘The Wolf In Me’, ‘The Wolf In You’, and ‘Vega – The Vampire King’. The story of Olivia Hunter continues. The tale of The Wolf deepens. The Vampire King makes a discovery. Revelations are revealed. Connections are made. Tragedy and trauma leave unseen scars. Reflections come to light. Realisations are realised. Life and death, dreams and love, provide an answer to the question: What is The Wolf In Us? 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

My Poem ‘Dear Friend’

Dear friend,
how have you been?
What have you heard?
what have you seen?
What have you been doing?
How have you been feeling?
It’s spring here,
and the days feel longer;
it’s starting to get steadily warmer,
I have to say –
and every day, just recently,
has been sunny and bright,
and above my head has been
an endless blue sky.
Winter was cold,
however we had no snow –
and it felt like everything
was holding its breath;
but now everything and everybody
can breath regularly,
because everything now is clearer.

I saw a magician last week,
and I am still amazed by what I saw
and what I felt during their show;
I began reading an old favourite book of mine,
‘The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy’,
and I am convinced that wherever I look
I am seeing the number ’42’ –
the answer to ‘Life, the Universe, and Everything’;
I went to London again a few weeks ago,
and I had the most fantastic and inspiring time;
I have been going from place to place,
and I have been compelled to take pictures,
ask questions, and write a poem or two;
it has been weeks since I went to the cinema
to watch a film – however there are a few movies
that I am looking forward to seeing –
every time I go to the cinema
it has mostly been a special experience for me:
it always has, and always will be.

My life has been a roller-coaster
for a while, as you know,
and I have been through a lot –
not as much as some,
but I think my fortunes
may be on the rise again, like the rising sun.
I must go now, but I hope to hear from you soon.
Whatever you are doing,
I hope you are happy and having fun!
I hope you continue to live a blessed and happy life,
and I wish only the best for you,
my dear friend.