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

In this episode, Mark recites Chapter One 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

My Poem “Out of your shell”

It is good to challenge ourselves...
it is good to take on new responsibilities...
it is good to do things
we have never done before -
in fact, it is essential in maintaining
our mental health...
it is good to expand our knowledge,
see the sights and meet new people
from different localities...
it is good to be immersed
in the unfamiliar...
it is good to test our tolerances...
it is good to let down our guard
and converse with people
who have different answers
to the question: why are we here?
it is good not to worry
about if someone is watching
and just do your thing -
even if it leads to you involuntarily
making a joke, singing, or starting to dance...
it is good to look the way you want to look...
it is good to have your own opinion
of what is beautiful...
it is good to have an imagination
and to have the gift to be able
to see the faces and to hear the voices
of characters that you read in a book...
it is good to step out of your comfort zone
and embrace the opportunity
to be able to fly free of your nest
and naturally find yourself
coming out of your shell.

My Poem “Life’s Light”

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed,
but energy can change form...
the creation of all things began
billions of years ago,
but nothing is as it was...
people can be emotionally open
and then transition into becoming closed off -
even doors can change
into becoming walls...
you can prepare for the rest of your life,
but what no one can ever be ready for
is the end of days that follows
a particularly painful absence and loss.

Endings are necessary.
Full stops are essential.
Severance hurts,
but sometimes it can also
be seen as an opportunity.
Everything big
over time transitions back
into becoming small.

Generations leave legacies...
life needs regeneration...
love is a dream...
in order to march every army of ideas
needs the beat of a resounding drum...
time is precious beyond belief...
every day needs a night...
the world is not all that we see...
every exposure is a convergence
and a prism of the fundamental
colours of what makes life's light.

My Poem “Millennium”

In a thousand years
what will be left?
In a thousand years
what will be left of us?
In a thousand years
what will be left of our planet?
In a thousand years
what will be uncovered
underneath the dust?
In a thousand years
what will we be thanked for
by future generations?
In a thousand years
what will we as a species look like?
In a thousand years
will everyone be a cybernetic organism?
In a thousand years
will people have to stay inside
most of the time to shield
from the intensity of the sun's light?
In a thousand years
will the human race
be living on other worlds,
and travelling through time,
as well as through space?
In a thousand years
will we have forgotten
what we now hold most dear?
In a thousand years
will we have been contacted
by multiple intergalactic inhabitants
of the galaxy, not mention the universe?
In a thousand years
will people worship Artificial Intelligence
and think of them as all knowing electronic gods?
In a thousand years
will we have created a source
of universal equilibrium?
In a thousand years
will we wish then that we now
would have learned our lessons
about tempting fate?
Only our descendants
can know for sure
what is going to happen
in the thousand years
of the next millennium.

My Poem “Back for more”

Hard to walk away...
Hard to break free...
Hard to forget what you did to me...
Hard to look at you and not remember
our beautiful dream...
Hard to go solo when I still feel
you inside of me...
Hard to hear that you have moved on
and are apparently as happy as can be...
Hard to realize that our time
together was always meant to be limited...
Hard to look in the mirror
and see reflections of what we did...
Hard to burn the bridges
that I always thought would last forever...
Hard to not want to go back to before...
Hard to not want to rise -
even knowing that it will lead to a fall...
Hard to stop sending a message
or picking up the phone to make a call...
Hard to stop following my heart,
no matter the cost,
and choosing to walk through fire
as I willingly go back for more.

42

Today is Mark’s 42nd birthday! In this episode, Mark reads his new poem, aptly titled “42,” and he talks about his life over the last 10 years and how much his life has changed. Mark also explains why this birthday, his 42nd birthday, is one that he has been waiting for for a long time – and what the significance of the number 42 means to him.

My Poem “42”

Today is the day...
Today is the time I have been
waiting for...
Today is the end and the beginning
of a brand new age...
Today is my birthday,
but not just any birthday:
this birthday feels unlike every other
that has come before -
it feels as if I have reached
the summit of a mountain
and I am looking out to the landscape
of my life
and everything and everyone,
who once seemed so close,
now seem so far away.

Today, more so than at any other time,
when I look back and I remember
who I have known and where I have been,
I realise just how much I have lost...
Today, more than I could ever describe,
when I look in the mirror
or when I look at photos from the past,
I see the choices that I have taken
that have changed me and moulded me
into the man I am...
Today, more than yesterday,
when I return to places I know well,
I see flashes of faces and experiences
that appear as if made up of fragments of dust...
Today, looking forwards, I know that
things will never be the same again.

Today, I have the ability to see behind,
as well as to see beyond...
Today, I have the instinct to do
what I always want to do:
to go with the flow
and to not worry about anything,
and to act as if I have nothing left to lose...
Today, as always, I am grateful for my family,
for my friends, for those who have
given me the keys of inspiration
that I use every day to open up
the door of perception and imagination...
Today, I celebrate finally reaching the age
that is the same as my favourite number
and the answer to life, the universe, and everything:
yes, today I am 42.

My Poem “Walk The Walk”

Some people say that they
are going to do something,
but they never do...
some people say that they
are going to be somewhere,
but they never are...
some people make promises
to make something happen,
but they never make the right moves...
some people say that they
are going to make a difference
but they never make their mark.

Talking about something is good...
dreaming about something is wonderful...
one drop of anything can
eventually lead to an epic flood...
believing that someone will be there
for you when you need them is great,
because it is necessary in life
to trust and to have faith in people.

Not everything can happen
how we want it to...
sometimes some people are,
unfortunately, all talk...
not everybody is as forthcoming
about their intentions and motivations,
and sometimes someone who we thought would never change
can surprise us by doing something
we never thought they would do...
in my experience, if and when you can,
you should always endeavour to
be a person of your word,
and when you need to, if you are able,
if you are going to talk the talk
make sure that you also
walk the walk.

Mark The Poet: My Poem ‘The Crimson Cardinal’

In this episode, Mark recites his poem ‘The Crimson Cardinal’. You can read more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me. You can buy all of Mark’s poetry collections, short-story anthologies, and novellas online on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Waterstones. You can follow Mark on Twitter at @MarkThePoetMe. You can follow Mark on Instagram at @TheSoundofMark.

My Poem “Sustaining Truth”

Every holiday celebrated
around the world
means different things
to different people...
everyone has an affinity
for some celebrations
more than most...
Easter, for example, is a time when
people young and old
get to share gifts of all sorts -
from chocolate eggs
to traditions that for generations
have been passed down
and practised because their message
has always been so meaningful...
the message of Easter, to me,
is that salvation can be found
by those who sometimes feel lost.

Every season has symbols
that embolize them...
every morning and evening
shares a vision of light
that is heavens sent...
every now and again
we are all asked to do
without something
in order to understand its essense -
like at the time of Lent.

Every faith rose and was inspired
and influenced by all others
since our ancestors began to
worship and give names to
the constellations of the stars
of the night sky...
every way to live on Earth
has its own lessons
and its followers have their
own trials to go through...
everything that happens in life
must be accepted and sometimes weathered -
just like a boat must ride
the infinite number of ocean waves
that are like ripples in the fabric of time...
every holiday has a reason to be embraced,
because humanity has always relied
upon the continued stories,
the ongoing mysteries,
and the significant figureheads
that are at the core of their
sustaining truth.