poetry
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Red – “I Would Do Anything”
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Green – “Pause” + “Resume”
In this episode, Mark recites the sixth story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Green’ – “Pause” + “Resume”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Green – “Play”
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Blue – “Not So Soon” + “My Hero”
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!"
Mark Hastings 