We all can not help ourselves from sometimes believing that everything and everyone will remain how we have always known them to be... we all can not help ourselves from sometimes taking our eyes off the road and not always paying attention to what or who is approaching us... we all can not help ourselves from sometimes taking things for granted - like a sacred tree that has stood for centuries and to its admirers it is legendary; however, then something surprising always happens, then something shocking will occur, then something, or someone, will do something so out of the ordinary and out of the realms of possibility, and the world itself can feel to some as if it has been changed irrevocably. No one can know with any certainty what will happen when they leave their homes every morning... no one can know what the waves of tomorrow will take with them, nor what they will bring... no one can know, by only using their eyes, who or what is standing right beside them... no one can know what someone is thinking and feeling when they look at you, nor what twists and turns a person will take driven by the energy of their passion. There are always plans being drawn up... there is always intention that precedes every action... there are always fragments left over following an unprecedented collapse of understanding which brings to the surface fear, loss, and uncertainty about the future... there are always people coming and going, arriving and leaving - and though we can all sometimes make ourselves and others believe that we are ready for anything, when something happens that perhaps feels as impactful and as disastrous as a star imploding and then exploding, when the time comes for us to face what we may need to face we will not know what to do, because when something of that magnitude happens we never see it coming.
poetry
My Poem “The Poetry Only I Could Write”
No one is born with a pen in their hand... No one is born with experience in their head... No one is born with the knowledge of who they are and what they are supposed to do with their life... No one is born with all that they could ever need; however, everybody is born with the potential to become anything, or anyone, and if we are lucky then we get to be born to, and brought up with, parents and guardians who will give us more than we could ever dream. I was, I am, and I will always consider myself one of the lucky ones - because from the moment of my birth I was given uncontainable and unconditional love by my Mum and my Dad... I was, I am, and I will always be a dreamer who will do whatever I can to make whatever I can imagine a reality... I was, I am, and I will always be the one who will never allow darkness to eclipse to the light that throughout everything I have had to go through has kept me from going mad... I was, I am, and I will always be someone who will never give up on anything or on anyone whom to me beams with an ever-glowing essence of pure joy and poetry. I have always believed and I have always shared my belief that everything happens for a reason... from the moment that the wolf within my soul began howling as a result of the love that I felt, which eventually inspired my first poem and all that have followed, I knew that I was who and what I am for a reason... I have always loved making connections physically, intellectually, emotionally, and allowing myself to fall like a shooting star to Earth and find myself somewhere I have always been fated to be with people whom I have always been destined to meet... from the instant that the spark of inspiration within my mind was ignited, I have always known that only I could have seen what I have seen, only I could have been to where I have been, and only I can think, imagine, express, and write the poetry that only I could write.
My Poem “Café Mambo”
When I close my eyes, I can still see the perfectly unbroken blue sky and I can still feel the peace and tranquillity that I felt within as I sat looking out at the breathtaking view of the calming and hypnotic waves of the paradise sea... I can still recall how lucky I felt to be where I was, with whom I was with, as we enjoyed the energy of the moments of stillness - as we all experienced the sensation of falling into a trance, as we listened to the music of the DJ who seemed to know exactly what songs to play and when to play them and who you could tell from the smile on their face knew that they had the best job, in the best place, and with one of the best views on Earth there could ever be... I can still see the sunlight sparkling off the spinning mirrored balls... I can still feel the tender touch of the ocean breeze... I can still remember what I was thinking and who I wished were with me, where I was, so that they, too, could share what I was feeling with me that felt more dreamlike and heavenly than pictures could ever show - that was what I saw, that was what I felt, that was what I can still see and relive within my mind when I close my eyes and I think about my time on the island of Ibiza, at the world famous Café Mambo.
Happy National Poetry Day 2023!
My Poem “The Insight”
My father, my mother, my family, my friends, and I have shared many amazing and wonderful gifts of shared experience together - however, on more than one occasion, above all the gifts of reciprocation, the psychic and empathic bond that I have had with certain people still continues to thrill me and to further convince me that what we think, what we feel, what we say, what we share is sometimes inaudible and only known by those who we have opened up to and those who we have given a part of our soul. Since I was a child, I have put my trust in people... since I was a child, I have put my faith in fate... since I was a child, I have put my heart into a circle of family who became my world... since I was a child, things have changed in some ways - whereas, in some ways, some things have remained the same: one of which being, I have always preferred to be early for something than to turn up to something, somewhere, late. I have always had heightened senses that told me that something was happening or that something was about to happen that though it would be out of my hands whatever it was would have a profound effect on me... I have always had this gift to be able to feel what and who lies beyond the invisible veil that separates the different versions of what is called "reality"... I have always had this instinct about certain things, even before I knew what they meant - and I have had experiences with certain people when we gave something to each other, and I know that what we had, though perhaps short-lived, meant something at the time. I have always loved having the secret knowledge that I could do the seemingly impossible - that I could go back to the beginning, relive moments when I was younger, and revist with the people who mean the most to me, as well as return to the places and to revist the people I knew from days and relationships gone by, where, when, and with whom I am certain I was fated to have known and to have been given the blessing of perspective because of that has only given more power to my one of a kind insight. Happy Poetry Day! 😊
The Rebel Poet Podcast: “You’re a Writer?”
My Poem “The Last Sunset”
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.
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.
Mark Hastings 