It’s amazing how fast
some people can adapt…
it’s incredible how quickly
some people can adjust…
it’s phenomenal how some people –
especially children –
can go from one day being
“the new kid on the block”
to taking a giant leap
into assimilating themselves
into a place, a time, a mindset,
and a completely different way of life…
some children are born with the infinite capacity
to learn at the speed of light –
and there are some adults who retain
the same gift of lightning-fast learning,
even as they grow older…
it always amazes me how some people
can live comfortably in different extreme environments –
from places where the temperature could not get any hotter,
to the places on this planet
where the temperature could not be any colder…
it is truly unbelievable how hazardous
some of the places on this planet
where people have been born,
where people have grown,
where people have lived,
where people have thrived,
where people have built a life,
where people have raised families,
where people have chosen to spend
all of their time until the day that they die,
because they feel as if they share
a connection with such a place…
it is in our collective human nature to endure,
to overcome our limitations, to explore,
to do things that no one has ever done before:
like diving to the depths of the deepest ocean,
climbing to the highest of peaks,
traversing the wildest and the most dangerous of deserts,
or exploring the unknown wonders of outer-space…
in space, there is no air and there is no way
for anybody outside of a space-suit to survive –
but that has not stopped a great many of us
from wishing that they were astronauts
so that we could discover new worlds
and new knowledge to enrich
the lives of all of humanity…
becoming accustomed to something,
to somewhere, to some new way of being –
like the selflessness, the patience,
and the compassion that you must
summon from within yourself
when you are the parent of a child –
in my opinion, is the greatest gift
that humanity has ever been given.
poem
My Poem “Orb”
Orb of light, Orb of life,
Orb shining brightly in the sky…
Orb of wonder, Orb of power,
Orb that makes the world go round…
we dare not stare directly at you…
Orb of worship, Orb of beauty,
Orb of warmth –
even from far away
your dominance over all of us
will forever be unmatched…
Orb of blessings, Orb of day,
Orb of celestial fire,
we who live under your glare
are here because of you –
but we know that even you
will one day see the moment of your death
when the cauldron at your heart
has burned its last
and you will be reborn anew,
and consume this blue and green planet
that has never ceased to orbit you,
and you will take all that has ever been with you –
and the cycle of life will begin again
when a new light begins to shine
and light up the darkness like a match…
Orb of morning, Orb of afternoon, Orb of evening,
Orb of every colour of the rainbow
that colours our world in all its beautiful ways…
Orb of seasons, Orb of phases,
Orb of reasons, Orb of storms,
Orb that we are forever bound to,
who we are all grateful for
and who we respect and adore –
we, the human race, are a part of you,
just as you are a part of us,
and no matter if one day our ancestors
reach out into the great unknown of space
and make a new home for themselves
upon a planet circling a star
far away from here, in another part of the galaxy,
you can rest assured that within the soul
and the dreams of humanity
there will only be one light guiding our way:
and that light will be you –
our sun, our beacon, our sphere of illumination,
our perfect and indomitable Orb.
“Sunrise” by Seen. Featuring Mark Hastings
Hello, everyone!
It is my great honour to announce that my poetry has evolved and has taken a step into a completely different medium. By that I mean to say that one of my poems – a poem that I wrote almost 9 years ago, my poem “I’ve never seen a sunrise” – at least my recording of which, has been incorporated into, and will soon be released, as a song called “Sunrise”.
“Sunrise” – which has a trance/house/chill-out kind of vibe to it – was created by the amazing Seen who has expertly mixed my poetry and my voice, with his uplifting and energizing style of music, to create a wonderfully uplifting song that – in my humble opinion – sounds amazing!
Like I said, my original poem and my recording of it is now nearly 9 years old; however,“Sunrise” by Seen featuring Me, in my opinion, gives my poem another life and another medium by which it can be shared and enjoyed.
“Sunrise” by Seen Featuring Mark Hastings will be released on “Summer Melodies Vol.2” – a compilation album of 9 songs ranging from deep house to progressive house/trance styles of music – by Summer Melody Records on February 8th, on Beatport, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, and on all other stores on February 22nd.
Here is a trailer highlighting some of the songs that will feature on “Summer Melodies Vol.2”, including a small sample of Seen and my song “Sunrise” at the 1:13 mark:
There will be a “Summer Melodies Vol.2” Album Release Party on Saturday, February 2nd, online @ https://plug.dj/trancehousechill – if you are interested in attending the album release.
And I would just like to say how honoured I am that Seen chose one of my poems to incorporate it into what I believe is a fantastic, amazing, and uplifting song that could be enjoyed by everybody – as I hope my poetry can always be enjoyed! 😊
-Mark
My Poem “The Road So Far”
It’s impossible to completely understand
a world until you start to explore it…
it’s impossible to completely know
a person until you meet them face to face…
it’s impossible to completely understand
why people do what they do
until you attempt to walk in their shoes…
some people are born into a way of life,
while some people choose a way of life
because they have heard a call…
some people fall when they try to rise,
while some people rise when they believe
they are going to fall…
some people discover more about other people
towards the end of a person’s life
and some people feel like their lives
are beginning again when they sit down
and they listen to the stories
told by a previous generation…
some things in life we choose,
while some things are decided for us…
there always comes a time in a person’s life
when they come to a crossroads –
when they look up, when they look down,
when they look left, when they look right,
when they look forwards, when they look back –
when they remember, when they consider,
when they count their blessings,
when they wish they had more time
with people who have passed on,
and such a crossroads always occurs
when it comes to the end of one season
and the beginning of another…
even as a person grows older
they always hold on to some things,
to some experiences, and to some people
longer than others, because there are some
mementos of life that instantly make people
jump back in time in their mind
like some kind of inter-dimensional time-traveler…
the older that a person gets
the more that they are reminded of how fast
time moves and how fleeting life is –
and that is why it is always important
to listen to the sound of the beat of your own heart,
because life truly is a journey – in so many ways –
and filled every day with things
that cannot be found anywhere else in the universe
and on any other planet orbiting any other star,
and that is why it is important to stop
every once in a while, while traveling the miles
of your life-long journey,
and reflect upon the road so far.
My Poem “Magpie”
I’ll admit it,
when it comes to writing poetry,
writing stories, making art,
creating light from the dark,
I – like many of my kind –
am a bit of a Magpie…
certain things – people, places,
smells, sounds, tastes, experiences –
that I see, hear, feel, and sense
enter my mind through my eyes,
through my ears, through my nose,
through my mouth, through my fingertips,
and make me slightly different
than I was before…
so many things that I see,
that I hear, that I feel,
shine for me and give me
the same reaction that I am sure
a Magpie experiences when they see
a glistening piece of metal from far away.
Magpies are highly intelligent
and they can live a relatively long life –
and it is because of their observed
and recorded intellectual capabilities,
their extraordinary memory,
and their innate nature, that has led
people over the ages to come to believe
that Magpies can sense and perceive
things before they happen,
as if their existence is connected
to a realm that can only be described
as being supernatural.
So many people think in the same way…
so many artistically minded people
regularly experience moments of inspiration
when they see, hear, or feel something
that opens their eyes wide
and compels them to make a reality
an idea that they cannot shake, nor deny…
so many people see things that other people
may also see, but could never convey…
so many people, like me, who express
what they see, what they hear, what they feel,
what they think, and what they believe,
ultimately choose to use what they have collected
within their mind until a time in the future
when they can let their creative side
fly like the black and white wings of a Magpie.
My Poem “I’m Your Angel”
For years now
I have been telling you
that you are my Angel,
my world, my heaven on Earth –
and now I realize that I have always been
the one meant for you:
your savior, your hero, your lover,
your soul-mate, your Angel…
I knew from the moment that I saw you
that I was drawn to you, attracted to you,
and instantly in love with you –
but now I know for certain
that you are the reason
that I am here on Earth,
and every day of my life
I want to dedicate to giving you
everything and anything
that you could think of
and making you as happy as you make me…
You are my miracle, my gift,
my inspiration, my one and only desire…
You make smile, you make my heart beat wildly,
you make every day worth living,
you make me happy –
and when you need someone I promise you
that you will always have me, and I promise
that I will always love everything about you,
because, to me, every inch of you is beautiful…
You will always be the answer
to every one of my wishes and prayers,
and I always wanted to be your
one and only Angel.
My Poem “The 1975 Experience”
I feel so alive…
I am still riding high
upon a wave of sound,
energy, and light,
after watching, after listening,
to my favourite band, The 1975,
live for the first time…
the experience was amazing…
the show was mesmerizing…
the almost spiritual, simultaneous,
synchronous, visceral gift
of opening your heart, your mind,
your soul, your senses, your mouth,
taking in, letting out an incantation
of love in the form of music and song words
that you know is an unfiltered
communication of pure ecstasy –
and in my opinion there is no way
of replicating that feeling of connection,
that wave of emotions that you find yourself riding…
when we are in presence of similar souls to us,
when we hope and pray to be taken away on a journey
to another place, and we reach a state
of hypnotic and perfect bliss,
returning to the outside world,
walking through the darkness surrounded by stars,
into the cold air of the night,
is like waking up from a dream
that you find it hard to describe afterwards
because it was so enlivening…
coming down after flying so high is always hard…
getting up the next morning
after a transcendental experience
is like waking up with a hangover
after being intoxicated by a drug…
I have had moments of time in my life
that were so special to me that I will never
forget them until the day that I die:
meeting my one true love and asking her to marry me,
meeting my favourite author,
standing atop the Empire State Building
and taking in the extraordinary
360-degree view of New York City,
getting my first book of poetry published,
and so many more –
and now I can add my time listening
to The 1975 live and in concert to that list,
because just like when I try and recapture
the sensations of doing all of the amazing things
that I will always remember doing,
when I close my mind eyes I still feel like
I am when and where I once was:
one moment in my lovers arms
sitting on that wooden porch in Georgia
that I still remember so well,
and the next bathed in the light
and the sounds being witnessed and reciprocated by
my favourite band, The 1975, on a cold January night.
My Poem “Shot in the dark”
Life is often like walking on ice…
Sometimes in life you are walking along
just fine and then you slip up
and you find yourself on your back
lying on the stone cold ground,
as the new morning’s sunlight
covers you like a sheet of gold:
you feel pain all over your body
from your head to your feet –
however, the thing that always hurts the most
is your ego, your pride,
and what goes through your mind,
after you pick yourself up
off of the floor without falling again,
is whether someone saw you unable
to defy gravity and control what happened to you –
and it is at moments like that,
and I have had a few,
when someone find themselves
in that position and in that state of vulnerability,
that we are all reminded of how falable we all are
and how susceptible to the other outside forces of nature
that we can’t control we are –
and when that happens everybody starts to learn
the value of their time in this world
and they begin to appreciate what they can control,
and they forgive the things in this world that just carry on
regardless and innately indifferently –
like the light of a shining star
whose life came to an end millions of years ago
but when we here on Earth look up
to the dark night sky
we can still see it above are heads
just as it was when it was still burning bright
and at it’s prime…
And that is why people are stars –
we are born, we live,
we use what we have while we have it,
and then we die –
and in our life we will have shined
for a time, for someone for a reason…
Living is a mostly unpredictable state of being
during which most of the things
we voluntarily choose to do
are just like making a shot
at a target in the dark.
My Poem “Bowie and Me”
Every day of the week
I head down to Dudley Street
to meet, to greet, and to speak
with the one and the only
David Bowie,
and every time I see him
he talks to me and
he communicates so much to me
without even having to say a word
how lucky we all are to be alive
and walking the streets and the paths
of this world –
and every time I see him
I get this instant flash
of inspiration,
like a bolt of lightning,
that I try to imbue
into the art that I create
which always follows
my divine-like encounter with “Bowie”
who waits tirelessly for me
against a wall of blue
on Dudley Street like a gate-keeper
and a guide to a world of
wonder, imagination, and self-discovery.
“Bowie” by Annatomix – Dudley Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom
My Poem “Outlet”
Everyone has something inside of them…
everyone has something to share…
everyone has a source from which
they draw their power…
everyone has a need all their life
to explore further down the path
that leads to who knows where…
everyone has a flame
that they gravitate towards…
everyone has a time in their life
when they want to go backwards
at the same time they are going forwards…
everyone has a place – a cafe, a bar,
a room, a forum, a gathering,
that they worship, that makes them happy –
where they can go to relax and be themselves…
everyone has a favourite reality –
whether it is one of familiarity,
or one of fantasy –
where they can dream and imagine
living a completely different way of life
within the stories that can be found
stacked next to one another on a bookshelf…
everyone has to have an escape…
everyone has to have somewhere else –
even if that place is in their mind
where they can do what they want to do
and where they can say what they want to say…
everyone has to have a place, a time,
or a person, where, when, or to whom they can vent…
everyone – no matter who they are –
has to have an outlet.
