It's OK if I should pass on to the world to come, because I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that I have played my part and I have definitely left my mark... it's OK if I had to go because I would again get to see all the people whom I have known - including the man who was always and who will forever be my hero... it would be OK I were to have written my last poem and to have seen my last sunrise, because I know that I did my best every day while I was alive... it would be sad to have to go and to not be able to say a proper goodbye to all those people who I know would miss me when I am gone and who I know would think of me and cry... it is not something I am planning to do, it is not something I am looking forward to, but if this poem were the last thing that anybody heard of me then I hope I will be remembered as being someone who gave back and who believed that every day was a gift... it is my lasting hope and my wish that someday someone will read my words, someone will see my face, someone will think about something or about someone who they love and wonder what and whom it was who inspired me, and the future reader of my poetry and I will begin to communicate with one another across space and across time because we will have created a bridge back to each other that we can use to learn more about ourselves and about how we can all help others through the darkness that follows the last light of our last sunset.
poet
My Poem “The Dance of Nature”
Seeing the fallen conkers below the tall horse-chesnut trees, watching the helicopter flight of the spinning sycamore seeds, I am always reminded of the transition of seasons taking place, and just how breathtaking and beautiful nature is, always has been, and always will be to me. There is always something in the air at this time of the year - something ethereal, something magical, something supernatural... there is always something in the way that people feel drawn to being outside and exposed to the elements that points to an underlying physical and emotional connection that we all feel and we all want to share with those who we are closest to. Since I was a child, I have always loved the autumnal colours, the intoxicating smell of the natural world that lingers after a rainstorm, the sight of the constellations of the stars of the night-sky that somehow shine clearer and brighter than at any other time, I have felt always invigoration of every one of my senses, influence my thoughts and my dreams - and the imprint that every transition that I have witnessed has had on me has been one that I never expected and I have never forgotten, because, as my Dad was aware and as my Dad always reminded me, everything and everyone is connected and we must all do all that we can to maintain the rhythm and the balance necessary while participating in the never-ending dance of nature.
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Red – “No One Is Ever Alone”
My Poem “Ultimate Fate”
Sometimes, the more you think about something and sometimes the longer that you spend obsessing about someone - in retrospect, you can eventually come to discover that could have spent the time that you did pursuing what makes you happy, rather than being held back by those who never truly will... sometimes love can be like a house of cards - and it can take the removal of one card out of many to bring everything crashing down... sometimes, we can find that we are putting more effort into a relationship that our significant partner - and that is when we can come to start hearing the alarm bells ring and start seeing the signs that point to an instability within the balance of the necessary give and take that is essential and should always be mutual... sometimes, we can all easily be deceived into believing a good lie - because we put all our trust in someone who from the moment that we met them made our heart pulse like the lightning of a thunder cloud... there is a reason why some things come easy to some people and there is a reason why some things come harder for others - but just because something is effortless or difficult that does not mean that further effort is not necessary in maintaining the energy and the momentum of something, until a transformation occurs that makes us all naturally reevaluate it... somethings will always change, some people will always remain the same - but no matter how the roll of the dice shakes out, as long as you can say with your hand on your heart that you did your best and you did all you could, then nothing and no one can judge you on something's ultimate fate.
My Poem “Viva Ibiza!”
Every morning, as I greeted the new day, as I looked to the horizon, as I saw the light of the sunrise flow over the mountains and the roofs of the houses, as always, I was in awe... every morning, as I walked the coastline, as I listened to the sound of the waves of the ocean going in and out, I saw, I heard, I felt the energy of the cosmic poetry around me touch me, inspire me, and rejuvenate me... every morning, as some of the revellers of the night before still remained sitting upon the sandy beach, as the echoes of the beats of the entrancing music continued to linger, I witnessed life, people, attempting to revive and reset themselves so that Summer's cycle could repeat, just as it is always expected to... every evening, as I returned from enjoying and embracing the experience of being where I was, on an island of both beauty and infamy, I always looked forward to looking out, just as the light of the sun touched the waves of the sea, as the perpetual celebration of life carried on, and as I closed my eyes I said to myself what some may only express silently with a smile when they find themselves in a paradise-like place where anyone can do what they want to do and where anyone can be who they want to be: "Viva Ibiza!"
Flashback #3: My Poem “Step Back” (January 30th, 2010)
Flashback #2: My Poem “The Great Attractor” (January 30th, 2010)
Flashback #1: My Poem “Time Well Spent” (May 16th, 2019)
My Poem “Love/Life”
Love is a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs... Love is an adventure of heights and depths... Love is a storm of emotions... Love is a sacrifice, a leap, a promise, a bond, a mutual connection and a commitment to journey somewhere with someone, or with something, that cannot be understood, nor undertaken, alone. Love is a beginning, Love can be an end... Love can be the making, Love can be the breaking... Love is what happens when you choose to take a step into the unknown with someone who you feel something for you beyond the limits of just being friends... Love is about giving, receiving, caring, listening, learning, appreciating and not taking for granted what you see, hear, and feel changing, evolving, and perennially blossoming. Love can be tested... Love can be lost... Love can be mended... Love can be harder to define and to put into words than anything, because Love is something that seems so simple from the outside looking in but which, in reality, is more complex than the answer to the meaning of life.
My Poem “Universal Translation”
We all go through life looking for connections... we all venture far and wide searching for similarities... we all journey to places hoping to make some happy memories and to have some fun... we all trek, voyage, and ultimately discover, the deeper that we dive into the relationships that define the human adventure, that the frontier of understanding is one that is infinite. I always find it amazing and fascinating when I meet someone who speaks one of the same languages that I do - especially when there is also a meeting of minds that instantly and naturally occurs... I always feel fulfilled after talking with someone who I might have just met who immediately recognises that we have something in common by the recognition of something that I am wearing, because the near effortlessness of our communication reminds me that we are all meant to find people who we can give back to and can give us the best of each others worlds. I have always been hopeful and optimistic about the future, the world, the universe, the possibilities of everything and everyone... I have always formed bonds with fellow enthusiasts of the same things, the same places, the same areas of interest, the same sources of escapism and enjoyment... I have always known that the only way to find commonalities is to use the means at your disposal to look beyond what is going on around you and follow the steps to where people like me wait to be found and reminded that they are not alone... I have always believed that what and whom we choose to engage with influences us in ways that cannot be quantified, but the more that we meet and talk with others who just want to make the most of what fills them with passion we find that we share a dialogue that will forever be a gift of universal translation.
Mark Hastings 