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My Poem “02022020”

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

Today is the second of February, 2020 –
meaning that if you were to write it down
then today’s date would be read as “02022020”,
which of course is a palidrome:
meaning that no matter in which order
that you read it it can be read in exactly the same way,
forwards or backwards,
which I consider as being symbolic
of the beautiful symmetry of life, of people,
of the universe that everybody finds themselves
a vital member of when they look up,
when they look down,
when they look in every direction possible,
in order to find their place in this
amazing hive of activity that is constantly
creating new gifts of love, energy, and inspiration
that we can only hope will fuel
that which is responsible for helping
each and everyone of us –
especially those of us here on Earth –
find our way and our purpose in life.

In Punxsutawney, PA, this morning
the Groundhog spoke
and Punxsutawney Phil himself
informed all in attendance that
he did not see his shadow –
which of course means that
there will be an early Spring,
which means that everything
and everyone can look forward
to the early start of a brand new season
of light and beauty
and all the blessings
that it will bring.


Happy Groundhog Day! 😊

My Poem “NEU”

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

When you make a choice
to wade out into an ocean of uncertainty
and away from the coast
of what is tried, tested, and known,
you have to stay calm,
you have to stay positive,
you have to stay strong,
and you have to keep going
if you want to realize the dream
of remaking, redefining,
and perhaps rediscovering
who you are in your heart of hearts
and what you want to see as
the ever changing face
and identity of your home.

Learning to swim can be scary at first –
being out in a vast and expansive environment
that is as uncontrollable,
as unrecognisable, as breathtaking,
and as alien as water can sometimes seem
can be daunting, and the further out that you go
and the deeper that delve
the more that you can sometimes
feel the need and the urge to turn back,
to return to the surface,
and to breathe in the air of the ordinary –
but if everybody in history had decided
to turn back when the waves of a sea got rough,
or when the land beneath their feet
started to seem impassable,
then no one would be around
to tell the tales of how humanity came to be.

A new day always harbours a new dawn..
a new morning always gives everybody
new things to think about,
to discover, and to explore…
an opportunity to do something
revolutionary is one that many people
around the world have taken advantage of
and the results of which undeniably
show more often than not
a beneficial change for those seeking
to expand their horizons –
which is why I always believe that
every new day, every new morning,
and every new opportunity
has to be grasped and considered
a gift to make a change that
may improve things, people,
attitudes, and fuel the dreams
of those people who are capable
of seeing beyond the horizon
and who can imagine what can become
a reality if you do not stop believing in
the power of transformation
and staying hopeful to what is possible
when people decide to make a move
to go their own way and carve out
their own individual groove.

My Poem “Countdown”

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

Every countdown that always occurs
on the last seconds of New Year’s Eve
before the obligatory
“Happy New Year!”
is simultaneously the countdown
to the end of one year
as well as the countdown to
a brand new set of 365 days
that will see changes in the world
as well as changes in people
that will change the landscape
of humanity in so many ways.

Countdowns can be good,
countdowns can be exciting,
countdowns can be like heralds from above,
countdowns can lead to instances
that can be surprising…
countdowns can give people
something to look forward to…
countdowns can give people
the thrill of anticipation…
countdowns can give people
the courage to do something
that they have always wanted to do…
countdowns can give people hope
and are not always a ticking clock
ticking down to a moment of destruction.

Time and space is relative…
the universe and nature
has its own timetable
which does not require
any knowledge or understanding of it
by anybody or anything.

Memories and experiences
are precious and personal
to whomever recalls them…
humanity requires the ability
to preserve and measure time
to give their lives some
semblance of meaning and structure,
and countdowns are especially necessary
because people like climaxes
just as much as they enjoy new beginnings –
and there is no conclusion and restart
that people plan for and look forward to
like the instant on the 31st of December
every year when 23:59, or 11:59pm,
changes to 00:00, or 12:00am,
when those who are still awake
celebrate, wherever they are
and with whomever they are with –
sometimes with a handshake,
a hug, or a kiss –
as they declare: Happy New Year!

My Poem “New Horizons”

Mark Hastings life, me, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Every day, beginnings
and endings exist and play out
in parallel to one another:
on one side of the same world
one person can be looking
at the sun rising at the dawn of day,
while another can be looking up
at the moon and the stars
of the twilight hours of the night…
everybody lives in different worlds,
living different lives –
even people sitting three feet away
from one another, in the same cafe,
can be thinking, feeling, living,
and breathing in vastly different ways.

Everybody in their life has a path;
however, that does not mean
that the steps that need to be taken
in order to reach the place of potential
are always going to be straight
and easy to be traversed…
every day since the start of recorded
human history empires have fallen
and new dynasties have risen
to fill the vacuum left
when one piece of the tapestry of life
is cut away because it no longer
fits with the modern world that it exists within.

Without exception everybody,
at some point in their life,
has made multiple mistakes –
and often times everybody has to find
a way to adapt and to coexist
with the intentions, the actions,
and the waves of change caused
by people who influence the people of the world
through their words but who live
far removed and untouchable from those
whom they claim to speak for
often times from behind walls and gates
and in castles and in high-towers
which have a power-structure
that has existed for centuries
among many human societies around the world.

What is built must one day self-realize
that there will come a time
when the end is a necessary component
of reinvention, revitalization, renewal,
so that something can continue to be relevant
beyond the time of their prime –
and that goes for the people,
businesses, brands, and opinions
that have existed around the world…
every day there are new lives being born
and every instant there are new universes
coming into existence that are off-shoots
of other universes…
every moment there are things that happen,
there are things that are seen,
there are things and there are people
that change the world and open the windows
and the doors to brand new horizons.

‘Playing God’ out now on Amazon

Mark Hastings books, Short-story , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal… Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son. Playing God takes you on a journey that connects a hero of myth with a modern day hero of music.

You can get a copy of my new book, Playing God, below:

My Poem “Buona Fortuna”

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

When you see the sunlight
you have got to race towards it…
when a new opportunity to spread your wings arises
you have got to seize it…
when inspiration possesses you
you have got to do something amazing with it –
because each of us are here on this planet
for a reason and because each of us have a purpose…
when you see something that makes you smile,
or someone who makes your heart race,
that is an almost golden guarantee that you are
unapologetically in a state of love…
there is no such thing as a dead-end,
unless you want there to be…
there is no such thing as nothing left to see
and nothing else to know…
there is a new world to be discovered
every morning when you wake up…
there are always new sights, new sounds,
new tastes, new ground to be found
and experienced for the first time
that will change you – so what better time to do,
to explore, and to find another new part of you
than at the moment when you touch down
somewhere you have never been,
or somewhere that you know well
but are seeing again in a new light,
where and when you feel filled
with overflowing hope and infinite depths of good luck.