People do not meet by chance...
people do not find themselves
somewhere without a reason...
people do not attend a party
unless they want to dance...
people do not always know
why something is important
until they are ready to see
what it is and what it means
in the light of the right season.
We all know what it feels like
when we find ourselves
at the right place and at the right time...
we all know how it feels
to be surrounded by people
who seem to know us
just as much as we seem to know them...
we all know what it means
to be gifted something by someone
who just wanted to be kind...
we all know how things were
when life seemed so much more
simpler -
but as we all get older,
we all discover that it is impossible
to hold on to everything, to everyone,
to every moment and memory,
without sometimes
losing our grasp on what anchors
and defines the reality of our present.
Things repeat because they are supposed to...
people return because they are meant to...
some ideas can be revived
easier than others
because they are secretly a part
of the underlying thinking
and intentions of the conscious universe...
some things, some people,
some actions, some experiences
are remembered better than others,
because over time they have
become vital lessons
that every generation needs
to relearn.
poet
My Poem “Sleeping Dragon”
Most of the time,
they are relatively calm...
most of the time,
they look around at the world, and -
though they see much that concerns them -
they are always quietly confident
and optimistic that one day humanity will collectively
figure out many of it's problems
and live in peace with one another...
most of the time,
they are accepting of
that which they cannot change -
mostly their memories
of past events that feel
like they came and went
as fast as the winds of a storm...
most of the time,
they are like a bird gliding over
the world below them;
however, there are times
when they see something,
when they hear something,
when they feel something,
when someone makes them feel enraged -
that is when they feel and know
that something inside of them
has been awoken and is burning
within them like a fire.
It doesn't happen that often,
but whenever someone has
done something to them -
something hurtful,
something selfish,
something deplorable -
that is when a part of them
rises like a phoenix
and shows itself to all...
it only happens if and when
they feel unable to control
the spirit within them
as it unfurls its wings,
starts to show its teeth,
and exhales their flames
in the form of words
that had been previously been
locked away and under their control.
People are seldom able
to know the consequences
of their actions,
nor how their words may
trigger the thoughts of someone
who only wanted to know
the truth of something
rather than a continuous
stream of lies and deceit...
everybody wants to live in a state
of peace, love, and serenity
when there is no longer
wars to be waged,
nor fights to be fought -
when everyone can understand
one another and get along.
No one wants to live
in a constant state of battle
with people who they may disagree with,
but who they may never really meet...
everybody wants to be able to
do what they want to do,
and be with whom they want to be with;
however, the events of life
never truly unfold
how we want them to -
which is why there are times
when even the most patient of people
find themselves having to show
a side of them that might seem
out of character -
and that is what, why, how,
when, and where someone
with the right mixture of passion,
intensity, and fire within them
can show that who they are
most of the time
is akin to a ticking time-bomb,
or as they like to be called
a "sleeping dragon".
My Poem “Writer’s Blood”
There are always things
that we want to talk about...
there are always things
that we want to keep to ourselves...
there are always fragments
of the past that return
and then are gone again
in the snap of a finger...
there are always people
who you want to forget about
but who come to mind
whenever we are alone
and wondering about life.
Within every moment of time
we all experience something
different and personal...
within every relationship
we all experience things that are both
wonderful and yet temporary...
within every day of our lives
we all learn from what came before -
even though we are still capable
of repeating the same mistakes of the past...
within every voice that we hear,
within every gaze that we share,
within every touch that we feel,
we all experience a transference
of understanding that may
take some time to fully
integrate itself into our psyche.
So much of life is remembered,
so much of life is forgotten...
only so much of who people are,
who people were,
can be captured physically
by using words and art -
because other people always want
to add their own ideas
of what made something
and what made someone
what they were...
so much of the world
has been remade
by humanity and by Earth itself
that there is no longer
an accurate representation
of what and how things used to be...
only so much can be retained -
but that is the sort of challenge
an artist lives for:
to make something
captured by their senses
endure long into the future,
to make something
that people genuinely love...
everything that we all live through
leaves a trace of itself -
just as everyone and everything
that once served as a source of inspiration
lives on within a writer's blood.
My Poem “An Artist At Their Best”
An artist is always a storm of emotions...
an artist is never just inspired
by one source of inspiration...
an artist is always looking
to create something for a reason -
because their instincts
tell them that they must...
an artist is never bound
by a blueprint or a roadmap,
because what they want to say,
what they want to share,
and what they want to show
may ultimately become something
that can not be displayed upon one wall
nor contained within the confines
of a single canvas.
An artist is always finding
new energy to inspire new art...
an artist never forgets
what it was, or who it was,
that gave them the first link
of an idea that would
grow into becoming a chain -
sometimes made of a substance
as strong as steel
or as fragile as glass...
an artist always sees the world,
the universe, as if it were one, big,
limitless, gallery of infinite beauty
and infinite possibilities...
an artist never explains
why their creations are
the way that they are,
because, after their creation,
everything starts a new life
and becomes something different
to everyone who finds it.
An artist uses every colour, every word,
every sound, every sensation,
every taste, every aroma,
to create what they make...
an artist sometimes returns
to something that others
might have long-since left behind -
ncluding their so-called "mistakes"...
an artist, like a child, knows
what they are saying when they speak -
but because, sometimes, some things
need a little more time given
by their observers and admirers
in order to interpret the secrets of their meaning,
some creations reveal what they are
and why they are created
a long time after the passing
of the artist who took the time
to bestow them with
a splinter of who they will always be...
an artist has been capturing
the life around them
and the life within them
since the first human
watched their first bolt of lightning
streak across a dark sky
and create the sound of thunder
that echoed with the sound
of their heart beating in their chest...
an artist is able to show
all who discover their art
what humanity is capable of,
and also what is possible
when humanity unites -
and that is when an artist
is truly at their best.
I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse – September 10, 2024
Hi, everyone!
So, I have another book coming out on September 10th, 2024, called “I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse”.
This book and its story has been in the works for almost 10 years – in fact, this story, at least Chapter One, was the first short story I ever wrote. So, why did it take me almost 10 years to finish it? Well, because I thought I had finished it. However, after I returned to this story and its characters, I was compelled to follow the story to a new conclusion and destination that I had not anticipated before.
I will most likely go into further detail closer to the publication date as to what I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse is about – but, for now, I wanted to share my new book’s synopsis and the link to where you can pre-order your copy of the ebook from Amazon.
Both the paperback and hardback versions will be available to order on September 10, 2024 – so watch this space for links to where you can purchase my book physically on Amazon in the coming weeks.
Synopsis:
“The story of two best friends and soulmates, whose love for one another is tested to its limits, and whose one of a kind connection ultimately takes them both on a journey to somewhere beyond the horizon. However, nothing and no one can stop them both from fulfilling their life-long promise to one another: to meet each other at The Lighthouse.”
Pre-order your copy of the ebook version of I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse here: https://amzn.eu/d/05vxwyBB
-Mark
I’ll Meet You At The Lighthouse – pre-order
My Poem “Square One”
Just like in the game of Monopoly
when everybody first arrives in this world
they start with the word “Go”,
and then they roll the dice
that will decide for them
where the game they are
involved in will take them –
and the rules of life
are similar to the rules of a game:
each of us start somewhere,
each of us are given a name,
each of us are given choices,
and as we learn more about
who we are and what motivates us
we find ourselves being pulled
down particular paths,
by particular things,
by particular people,
into making decisions
that will effect the rest of our lives.
No one in this life
is immune to influence –
because our brains are driven
by stimulation and information,
even from a young age…
no one can stop themselves
from making the “wrong choice” –
because up until a choice or a move
has been played to its conclusion
there is no way of knowing
the outcome of anything…
everybody dreams of becoming
something or someone when they are a child –
something or someone
who they see and want to emulate;
but I wonder how many people
actually became who they wanted to be
when they grew up,
if they did what they wanted to do,
and if they became who they wanted to be
when they were a kid?
Life has a way of making certain things happen,
while other things never get off the drawing-board…
people have a way of changing
their minds more frequently than they would think under certain circumstances…
the terrain that people think
will always stay the same
has a way of being remade
that cannot simply be returned
to how it used to be –
because nothing, no one,
and nowhere stays untouched
by outside influences.
From the moment that
the necessary components of our planet
coalesced and began to slowly
but surely evolve into
the wild testbed of experimentation
that it will always be,
even before humanity entered
the mix and started effecting
the world by any and all means,
Earth has been visited from space
many times by its fellow
celestial cousins
and it has continued to
thrive and go with the flow
of whatever course
plays out upon its surface.
Everything and everybody
begins their journey with
whatever and whomever
they have at their disposal,
and then, before long,
everything and everyone
finds themselves being
taken to places that they
do not choose to be –
but places where others want them to be;
and that is when the seeds
of rebellion are first sowen,
that is when the first ideas
of defiance start to get louder and louder –
until every individual decides to do something for them
and for no one else,
and that is when it starts:
that is when the power of chance
can start to change the map
of the world within our mind
and start to alter our opinion
of what we are here to do
and who we are supposed to be.
We all think that we will not
make the mistakes that similar people in our shoes have made in the past…
we all think that we can somehow
be different from other people
if we have “more” of something
than someone else…
we all think that we might get to see
something that no one else has ever seen,
or experience something
that no one has ever done before;
but each of us discover
that we are all constantly stuck
in a loop of repetition
that is hard to break free of –
especially when we find out that
there are powers in the world
that wish to control others
into thinking and believing
that one way is the only way
and supercedes all others…
we all think that there is a way
to see something before it happens,
and perhaps prevent the inevitable –
but time and time again
each of us are given a wake up call
that reminds us that some things
will always happen
because they were always meant to happen:
including proceeding down a path
for as long and for as far as we can
before realizing that we have
actually returned to where we were
and have to start over again
from Square One.
Mark Hastings 