pride

My Poem “God Bless the N.H.S.”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I believe that we here in the U.K.
are truly lucky and should be
thankful to have a National
Health Service filled with
Health Care Professionals
such as Nurses, Doctors,
General Practitioners, Chemists,
and those who care for the frail
and the elderly of our society –
and in my opinion
since the outbreak of Covid-19
each and every member of the national
medical team has outdone themselves
tirelessly, physically, emotionally,
and psychologically
as they have daily sought to slow
the spread of the Coronavirus
as well as to help the many suffers
of this deadly disease fight it
and with God’s will survive it.

I believe that the men and women
of the National Health Service –
who so many people leave their homes
briefly for, stand outside their
front-door for, and clap for
every Thursday evening at 8 o’clock –
are some of the most remarkable
healthcare workers in the world,
and the sacrifices that some of them
have made since the start of this
world-wide epidemic will
never be forgotten and for years
to come they will be remembered
and memorialized for the part
that they have played in helping
to deliver a future
for all of humanity.

I am so proud to call
the United Kingdom my home
and in large part because of what
the Great British people
are blessed with in abundance –
and I think this crisis
that we are currently living through
is proof of how lucky we all are
to be able to get back
what we have given
when we need it the most,
and the fact that every British citizen
can walk into a hospital and be treated
with the best health care in the world
no matter who they are
or where they are from is an example
of just how much we here
in Great Britain are blessed…
the pride of the country
and the true heart of the nation
in which we live in, to me at least,
is undoubtedly the wonderful
and the heroic men and women of
the incredible National Health Service.

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My Poem “The Lion of His Pride”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am just now starting
to recover from the storm
of thoughts, feelings,
and emotions that I have
felt swirling around me,
within me, over the past
two weeks – fourteen days
over which I and my family
have been tested in ways
like never before.

Every day for two weeks
I and my family woke up,
greeted the sunlight of the new day,
clasped our hands together,
looked up to the blue sky,
as we collectively and individually
prayed that things would be ok
and that my Dad would soon
awaken and be saved.

It’s hard to put into words
and to find some kind of reason
to describe what happened and why…
it’s hard to know what to say
and what to do when something
so shocking as what happened happens –
especially when all that you feel
like you want to do is cry.

Everybody has their own path to take
and their own steps to make
when coming to terms with something
so frightening – and no one more so
than the one who is at the centre
of attention and care
who is being willed to get better
and to regain enough strength
to open their eyes,
to say what they want to say,
and to once again stand up
on their own two feet…
there is nothing more scarier to me
than being in the shoes of someone
who has been incapacitated –
but, as I whispered into the ear
of my Dad when he was unconscious,
for my Dad I would have without question
chosen to take his place.

For someone who has seen
as much as my Dad has seen,
for someone who has felt
as much pain as my Dad has felt
throughout his life,
for someone who has been
through so many unprovoked battles
as my Dad has been through,
you just have to wonder
why it is that some people
have to go through
what they have to go through
while others seem to get
an easier roll of the dice…
for someone who is as scarred
and yet as caring, loving, strong,
full of life and purpose as my Dad
has always been throughout his life,
I do not think that it is uncalled for
to ask whomever or whatever is listening
to help my Dad in any way that they can
so that he can continue to be
the lion of his pride that he has always been.

My Poem “Pride”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pride is all around us…
flags of many colours
and symbols of many things
are being displayed proudly wherever I go…
symbols of pride in ones identity
and in ones country are being worn
on the clothing of everybody who feels hope
and optimism deep within their heart…
pride is being sung and can be heard in the air…
pride in a shared passion brings people
from many different walks of life together…
pride is one of the most important things to have,
and it is one of the hardest things to lose…
pride should not need to be explained to anybody,
because Pride is just another word for Love –
and sometimes who and what you love
is not for you to choose…
people feel love with people, with places,
with things, with ideas, with ideals
that draw them to them like a moth to a flame…
people feel deep pride and they live every moment
of something that means the world to them:
whether it be their favourite singer or musician,
their favourite thing to do and experience,
or perhaps every second of the 90 minutes
that make up the two halves of their favourite game…
pride can be shown in many ways…
pride can be felt by those who know
the power of its energy every day…
pride is a person’s internal voice
that should not be silenced…
pride is the growl of courage, the howl of unity,
and the roar of family that you can see,
hear, and feel within a pack of wolves,
or within a group of lions who embody
the importance of staying strong by keeping your pride.