magician

My Poem ‘Art & Soul’

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

Art is personal;
art is an expression of heart;
art is life’s missing parts;
art is the signature,
the fingerprint,
the indelible footprint,
of our soul.


To me, an artist is a magician of colour
who understands the deep emotional connections
that are ever-present throughout life;
to me, a piece of art is like a timeless child;
to me, an artist is a wizard of light;
to me, art should be seen, embraced, felt,
and it should call to you –
like the roar of a lion in the wild.


The epic mountains, the vast valleys,
the beautiful shores and seafloors of Earth,
are like a piece of one of a kind
natural sculpture –
and the time that was taken
to create and sculpt such masterpieces
was worth every second of every century;
the art painted on every cave
that still remains, and will always remain,
on the cave walls on which they were painted
are landmarks of human evolution
and creativity that are more extraordinary
than words could ever describe –
because, to me, they are proof
that not only were our ancestors
masters of hunting, gathering, and surviving,
but that they were also communicators,
dreamers and thinkers,
and curators of compelling
and powerfully evocative artistry.


Art has been a love of mine since I was a child;
even at a young age, expressing myself
with pencils, pens, colour, and paint,
was my way of letting my imagination go wild;
artists, to me, as a child, were like lords of time
who could capture a moment at its most inspiring
on a canvas that was always deeper
than it appears when seen from the side;
the moment that I first saw
Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’,
I looked into her eyes
and I instantly started to smile.

Whenever I go to an art gallery, or art exhibition;
whenever I look to the landscape of the horizon,
at any time of the day, no matter where I am,
I see art that is beautiful;
whenever I see something artistic
that somebody has made and created,
everything about me vigorously vibrates
with voracious energy and inspiration;
whenever I see art –
be it a Michelangelo, an Andy Warhol,
a vace of Sunflowers or a Starry Night
by Vincent can Gogh –
I want to make my own art
and express the emotions that I feel
about what I see, in words of poetry
from my heart of art and soul.




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My Poem ‘The Showman’

								

								 Mark Hastings
															Poetry					
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The audience, the stage,

the lights, the time,

the anticipation, the murmuration,

the feeling in the air

as the lights begin to fade…

and then the Magician appears

into a white spot-light of illumination –

all eyes are looking at him,

he has everyone in a trance,

the Showman begins to tell his story,

and the music starts to play,

as the Mentalist leads us all

in an unforgettable and tremendous dance.


The Showman is a true master of his art;

the Magician is a true wizard of his magic;

the Mentalist has so much to think about

and has to be ten steps ahead of his audiences;

the Storyteller is weaving together

and telling a tale to everybody,

but he is also having to adapt

to the seemingly random choices and responses

of his ticket-paying gathering –

however, every second, the Conjuror

is undoubtedly in control:

he never once shows any sign of nerves,

stage-fright, or not knowing what is happening

and what is going to happen –

because they know that things are playing out

just as they predicted they would,

and everything and everybody

is following their blueprint for the night,

and the pieces of the puzzle

that they have laid out and fragmented deliberately

are coming together according to their plan

and their pattern.


The Showman asks his audience for their trust,

and as a member of their audience,

and because you want to be

under the Magician’s spell as much as possible,

and for as long as you can,

you not only want to give the Mentalist your full-attention,

but you also want to give them

your cooperation and participation.


Being in the audience of a true Showman is a gift;

being there when the lights go down, and the show begins,

is magical in and of itself;

being hypnotized and entranced

literally gives people a lift;

listening intently to the Mentalist’s incantations,

and willingly going on a journey to another place,

and feeling as if you are in a different state of being –

as if you are dreaming;

when you leave the theatre, after the show has ended,

figuring out what happened, and when,

is sometimes hard to recount and tell.


Every second of the Magicians performance is amazing;

every colour, every word, is precise and meaningful;

every person selected at random from the audience

and who gets to tread the boards of the stage

with the Mentalist has an unforgettable experience;

every sound, every visual,

is fascinating and electrifying;

every time the Magician comes into the audience

and literally overcomes people

with their touch and presence,

being so close, is phenomenal;

every act, after the fact,

feels like it happened in a flash –

even at the interval of the show,

you can’t believe that the time

you have been in your seat in the theatre

has gone by so fast.


At the end of the show,

when the performer comes back onto the stage

to take a bow and enjoy a rousing

and roaring standing-ovation,

the Conjuror, the Magician, the Mentalist,

leaves the stage – but then reappears

to connect the dots back to the first thoughts

that they had verbalized,

the first pieces of the puzzle:

and when they reveal the true message

that makes everything that has come before,

everything they have shown and demonstrated –

like a conductor of music

with an audience of instruments

in front of them and under their power –

everybody feels something profound,

and when the artist, the star, the entertainer,

the virtuoso leaves the stage for the last and final time

the cheers and the response is electric –

and, in truth, you don’t want the magic to ever end.


When the show is over,

and you, the audience,

have to leave the theatre,

everyone is awash with great and magnificent emotions –

and as they walk away,

everybody cannot wait until the next time

they are in the audience, and can be a witness,

to the entrancing showmanship

of the remarkable Showman.


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My Poem ‘Voilà!’

								

								 Mark Hastings
															Poetry					
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Have you ever thought about something,

and then there it was?

Have you ever thought about someone,

and then there they were?

Have you ever asked a question,

and then got an answer?

Have you ever seen something,

and thought to yourself:

“nothing could ever be better than this”?


I have always liked

the magic of the “spur of the moment”;

I have always loved

the illusionist’s favourite trick

of “now you see me, now you don’t”;

I have always longed

to be a man of surprise;

I have always made the most of every moment

that has filled my eyes.


The gift to spontaneously create something

is unbelievably amazing, to me;

the ability to be able

to make something out of practically nothing,

is like a verse right out of nature’s

magic book of poetry;

the imagination that shows itself in a piece of art,

is as phenomenal to see and to witness

as the expression of a random thought.


A magician would not be as entrancing

if he did not have the most amazing sense of timing;

a chef would not be the best they could be

if they did not know, and have an instinct,

about what ingredients go with what;

a musician with a natural talent

might need to the learn the art of refinement,

however they do not need to go through

too much intense training;

a true creative person

can do anything with whatever they have got.


I have seen the most amazing sights

when I had no expectation of seeing anything exciting;

I have heard a piece of music that has moved me –

from the strings being played by a stranger,

who plays as if they were born

holding and plucking the cords of a guitar;

I have felt enlightenment

that felt like being struck by lightning;

I have had my own moments of reveal;

and I love being there whenever there is an instance

when someone can show their magic,

and have their moment of voilà!