life

My Poem ‘Memento Vitae’

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

Mementos of life…
Photographs of us…
Memories of days and nights…
Echoes of love…
Souvenirs of where we’ve been…
Snapshots of who we’ve known…
Reminders of what we’ve seen…
Hallmarks of home.

Hope and happiness…
Laughter and light…
Smiles and kisses…
Children who have blossomed
before our eyes…
Things to remember…
Lessons learned…
That which truly matters…
Cycles of rebirth.

Sunrises and sunsets…
Timeless songs of yesterday…
The eternal souls
of those who we will never forget…
Music that stays with us everyday…
Unbroken Vows…
Promises made under starlight…
Words of truth spoken aloud…
Miracles never to be forgotten
from the gift that is our life.

My Poem ‘Revival’

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

I am alive… I am awake…
I have been revived…
I have stepped through the gate…
I have heard a voice
call to me from the dark…
last night I easily
slipped beneath the covers of twilight…
I slept… I dreamed,
and in my dreams I saw trees, I saw stars…
I saw huge flowers and enormous honeybees…
I looked through a galactic-window
while standing upon the red
sandy-surface of the planet Mars –
but now my eyes are open,
now I see the light
that emanates from within everybody…
now I hear the unspoken,
now I write the poetry
that I see all around me…
an awakening… a rejuvenation…
a rebirth… a rainbow and a spectrum of colour –
like that which follows the raindrops of a downpour –
is something that some people take for granted,
while others who are able to see true beauty
when it is right in front of them
feel empowered to see and to believe in more…
a restoration… a resurrection…
an after-life… a resurgence…
a renewal of life
can follow any and every choice that you make
to look above, to look within, to reach-out
with more that just your fingertips…
to open your heart and your hands
is to grasp the power of your own soul
and it is the means for you to bring about
a spiritual and beautiful revival.

My Poem ‘A Mother’s Nature’

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

Every son and every daughter
needs a hero to look up to
while growing up…
every child deserves the best
that their parents can give them –
but the gift of a mother’s love
is so unparreleled and so pure,
and without the gifts
that only a mother can give
no child would know
what the power of love truly means…
mothers go through a rollercoaster of emotions
as they put the needs and the feelings
and the future of their child before their own…
mothers and fathers are both responsible
for the life, the caring, the well-being,
and the building of the nest
that is at the centre of their childs’ world –
however, a child will want for nothing
as long as they always have a place
to call their home.

So much of life is about sacrifice –
but there is nothing more important to a child,
and nothing else that they will remember more,
than those moments of true happiness and innocence
when they were a small child
just before they drifted off to sleep
and they stared into their parents’ smiling face
as they wished them good-night.

Every form of nature has seasons,
and sometimes both fathers and mothers
have to weather more than their children could ever know…
sometimes both fathers and mothers
have to go through indescribable hurt and heart-break
just so that their children might not have
to suffer the same fate of falling
to the depths to where life
sometimes makes people go.

As with most things in life,
there is no perfect blue-print,
nor is there anybody who could honestly proport
to being all-knowing when it comes
to what is best for their child –
but the most important thing
is to always be there for your child
with open-arms, to not judge your child
for who they are, and no matter what
be the one who will always nurture.

The life of a Mom can be hard sometimes,
and it can be filled with just as many tears
as there are smiles –
however, there is nobody who has never
needed and not wanted to be loved
and understood by their parents,
and at the heart of a true mother of children
there lies a pure and eternal love,
and among everything that can sustain a child
throughout their life, truly and in every way,
there is nothing more beautiful,
nor more wonderful to see,
than the gifts of love of a mother’s nature.

My Poem ‘The Wilder Tower’

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

I will never forget the first time I saw
and the first that I climbed the steps
of the “Wilder Tower” – the lightning tower…
I will never forget the silence that I heard
and the feeling of peace that I felt
when I stood atop the stone-built tower
that stands as a monument in a former battlefield
in Chickamauga, Georgia…
I will never forget and I could never truly describe
what I was thinking and what it meant to me
to be where I was and with whom I was with…
I will never forget what came over me,
nor how fast my heart was beating,
as we were standing and looking below and beyond
to the green-grass and to the trees
that stretch to the horizon in almost every direction…
I felt as if I had always been meant to be there,
and as if the tower itself had been calling to me
and beckoning to me all my life.

The Wilder Tower stands tall and steady,
and over the years since its construction first began
it has literally weathered everything:
from a delay in its building,
to being hit during a thunder-storm
by a bolt of blue-lightning…
the Wilder Tower is magnetic
and it is a place that draws people to it…
the Wilder Tower is somewhere anybody can go
to climb, to stop, to think,
and to call out for an answer
from whomever may be listening…
the Wilder Tower is a powerful place
to find inspiration if you are romantic
or artistically-inclined,
especially if you a young-lover,
an artist, and a poet.

To some people, a building is just a building …
to some people, a tower is just a tower…
to some people, a memorial to a battle
is just a reminder of a violent past –
however, to me, certain places have great meaning
and they have the draw and the gravity
that they do for reasons
that are sometimes spiritual in nature…
our planet – the world that gives us
all that we could ever possibly want or need –
has many places on it that will forever have a memory
imbued and associated with it
that will always make them places
that are meaningful and special…
I have stood atop skyscrapers –
from the towering Empire State Building
to the beautiful Rockefeller Center in New York City –
and though those buildings and the skylines
that I saw will stay with me forever
in my memories that I will always remember,
nothing and nowhere could compare
to the first time that I stood looking at,
climbing the stairs of,
and then standing atop of
and high-above the ground,
with my heart in my hands,
while smiling and in-awe
of the 85-foot tall
Wilder Tower.

My Poem ‘Tennessee Honey’

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

Her hair is blonde…
Her eyes are blue…
She and I have an unbreakable-bond…
She drives a Chevy Malibu.

The woman I love has the key to my heart –
she makes me happy, she makes smile,
she’s amazing, she’s incredible,
and she’s the muse of my art.

We met online… we met on Twitter…
I have loved her since the moment I saw her.

The woman I love is perfect as can be –
she’s my Georgia chikadee,
she’s my Tennessee honey.

I have never loved anyone like I love you, Melissa!

My Poem ‘Experimentation’

Mark Hastings books , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything begins with experimentation…
most of the things that we love the most
once began as something unknown…
most things we seemingly
stumble upon at random…
most of the things that we take with us wherever we go
are the things that remind us of the wonders
that we remember of our childhood home…
we grow up with certain things…
we grow up with people who we know, and who know us…
we lose things… we have to look in more than one direction
in order to find our focus.

When we start looking beyond our comfort-zone,
when we start following a voice
that calls to us like an S.O.S,
when we start caring about a people
and a world that is not our own,
when we start finding others who bring out our best…
a chain-reaction of events without-end forms…
a new thing is born…
a new way of exploring
the infinite possibilities of the universe is launched…
a new sword to defend you from the dark of the world is forged.

Everything is a continuation…
everybody is a DJ – and every day we all remix what we see,
what we hear, what we feel, in our mind and in our imagination…
when we look around, when we want to journey to somewhere
with a definitive-destination, and we stop to think
about why any of us are here and what should be
our new source of motivation…
when we want a bit of the old and a bit of the new,
when we want both the contemporary and the retro,
then it doesn’t hurt to spin the wheel of inspiration
and dabble in a bit of artistic experimentation.

My Poem ‘Thirty-six’

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

So much has changed,
so much is different…
I still have the same name,
I still live in the same place,
and for the most part
I still have the same face –
but I am not the boy who I once was…
and, as I always do at this time of the year,
I am wondering to myself,
as I stare at my own reflection:
what about me has changed the most?

These days, I have brown hair –
where as when I was a child I was a natural-blond…
these days, I take journeys to many places on my own –
where as when I was a boy growing up in my village
the furthest away from home that I went
was down to the end of the road
and to the nearest duck-pond…
these days, I spend hours dreaming up new stories
and making up adventures for complex characters –
where as when I was a boy, I… I…
to be honest, I pretty-much did exactly the same thing –
but these days when I write something
usually I am writing from the experience
of having been through and having seen so much.

I have always asked questions…
I have always looked for the meaning of things…
I have always lived my life without feeling
burdened by other people’s expectations…
I have always looked up to the sky –
at the stars at night,
or to the blue-sky of a Summer’s day –
and I have always been awestruck by what I saw,
because every time I look up I am inspired,
and what follows is always breathtaking.

All life is about change,
about transformation, and about transition…
everyone’s life begins in the same way,
and from the day that we are born
we are all on our way
to the same destination…
all my life, my parents have been there for me
and they have given me more than a son
could ever ask for –
every day, my Mum and Dad are with me
and it is because of them that I am so blessed…
when I was a boy, I said a prayer and I made a wish:
I prayed to God that I would find my purpose,
and that while searching for the meaning of my life
I would find love and happiness…
now, I am an adult –
and, as I look around myself and at my life,
I can say with all my heart
that all my wishes and prayers have come true…
I can honestly say that my life has been one
that I would never have wanted to miss –
even knowing all that I have seen and been through,
I feel loved, and truly blessed to be who I am
and to have done all that I have done…
and I am still only 36.

My Poem ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’

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

Don’t be afraid of the dark –
because it is in the dark
where we find the brightest lights
and the most beautiful sights
in the universe…
don’t afraid to close your eyes –
because when we close our eyes
we dream and we see
our internal hopes looking back at us…
don’t be afraid to believe
what you want to believe –
because it is in the act
and in the art of belief
that we learn to see
the beauty of things and people…
don’t be afraid to remember
where you have been and what you have seen –
because remembering is like time-traveling
into the past, and it can help you
to make sense of what you see
and where you find yourself in the world.

When I was a child I was afraid of the dark –
but then I found out what had been waiting
for me all my life, one night while I was staring
up at a sky full of stars…
it was like one of the stars has descended to Earth
from the heavens and had indelibly left its mark…
while growing up I discovered
that even silent nights are filled with music,
and even seemingly blank pages
are secretly emanating inspiration…
the more that I have lived
the more that I have been bitten
repeatedly by the bug of universal fascination.

I used to be afraid of dark rooms –
however, now I find them fascinating places…
I used to be scared of walking dark streets at night…
I used to have this fear about people
forgetting my name and my face –
but now I know that there is more to see
than what can be seen with our eyes…
there is so much more that contributes
to the answer that we all give when we die,
when we are asked: what was the meaning of your life?

Hold on to no fear…
don’t miss what you do not need…
hold onto what and who you love –
even if doing so sometimes brings you to tears…
don’t be afraid to ask for help –
because there is always someone
who can hear you and will listen…
letting go of something makes you realize
why it is important to hold on to something
for as long as you can –
but sometimes life can go by so fast
that when you look back on everything you have done
it can seem like the still image
of a picture-postcard photograph…
sometimes it is where and when
you do not expect to find things
that you come face to face with miracles –
so, if you have children do not forget
to teach them, and remind everyone else,
that is against the blackest of backgrounds
that we see the brightest of sparks…
and it is ok to open and close your eyes
and to not be afraid of the dark.

My Poem ‘Wild Lightning’

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

Ever since the moment
I first saw your face,
ever since the moment
I first knew your name,
ever since the moment
our worlds collided
and our hearts exploded
when we first fell in love,
ever since the moment
you became a part of my life
and your spirit merged with mine,
I have loved you like I have never loved
anyone or anything before –
and every day I know for sure
that as long as I have you
I could never want or need
anyone or anything more.

To me, every day when we are together
is always special…
to me, I cannot think of anything better
or anywhere I would rather be
than being with you…
to me, you have always been,
and you always will be,
the most beautiful woman in the entire world…
since the moment I fell madly in love with you,
to me you have given me more
than any artist has ever been given
or has ever been inspired by any muse.

Missing you is torture…
being loved by you is the best!
With every day that passes,
every second that I look at your perfect face
and I marvel at the perfection
of your smile that I adore,
no matter where I am
I long to leap to wherever you are
and tell you I love you –
just before I kiss you on the lips.

When I look into your eyes
I feel like Thor, the God of Thunder…
when you and I touch each-other
I feel the most incredible
and unbelievable feeling of electricity
all over my body…
when you say my name it is
an absolute moment of magic
that to me is always breath-taking…
for me, always and forever,
it will always be you and no other…
all I ever want in my life is you –
because you are the one who makes me happy…
from the moment we first met
there has been an unending energy between us,
and I know that when we think of one-another
within our minds it is like
being inside a cloud charged
with an infinite number of bolts and volts
of uncontainable wild lightning.

My Poem ‘Mum & Son’

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

There is a woman
who has known me all my life…
there is a woman
who loves her family more than anything…
there is a woman
who knows how important it is,
no matter how hard it can feel,
to stand up against an aggressive adversary
and to not give up
when you have got to fight to stay alive…
there is a woman
who looks just as beautiful bald
as she does with a full-head of hair…
there is a woman, a mother,
who has a son, Mark,
and a daughter, Clare…
there is a woman
who knows and who sees
the true face of love and happiness
in the eyes of her husband, David…
there is a woman… my Mum, Bernadette,
who has loved me, who has thought about me,
and who has cared about me every day
that I have lived…
there is no other like my Mum…
there is only one son for this Mum,
and only one Mum for this son…
there is a woman – a wife, a mother –
who daily does the impossible
for the people who she loves…
no matter what she has been through,
there is a woman who has continued
to smile, to stay positive,
and to never give up hope…
there is a woman
who is the eternal friend
to those who are blessed to know her
better than anyone –
her husband, her children…
there is one woman
who I am writing this poem for,
for Mother’s Day…
because I love my Mum!