“Father and Son” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.
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Short story: “The Man in Blue” (2018) by Mark Hastings
‘VEGA – The Vampire King’ by Mark Hastings – Chapter Twelve: “The Messenger God”
‘VEGA – The Vampire King’ by Mark Hastings – Chapter Eleven: “Pandemonium”
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Red – “Hermes”
‘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
My Poem “To my Mum”
To the woman who from the day that
I was born has given me the gift
of unconditional love…
to the woman who carried me,
who has held me, who has thought about me,
and who has been there for me my entire life –
no matter what you have have been going through:
I have always felt blessed that
you are my kind and caring Mum
and I am your adoring son.
To the woman whose smile
has made me smile more times
throughout my life than I can count:
you have been the best example
of who and what a mother should be,
and those of us who are your children
every day consider ourselves lucky
to have a part of you in us
and to have a part of us in you-
because you are a role-model
for being a mother like nobody else…
to the woman who has sent her children
off to sleep every night with
a blessing of sweet dreams:
you do not know how much
what you do matters, nor what your
effortless love has always meant
and what your love will always mean.
To the woman who gave birth to me…
to the woman who has always
accepted me for who I am and who has
always praised me for what I do…
to the woman who has always given me what I needed more than anything in the world…
to the woman who I could not thank enough
for being amazing in every way –
this poem is dedicated to you:
Bernadette Marie Christine Hastings,
my one and only, my one of a kind,
the best in the world, Mum.
Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂
My Poem “The Greatest Man In The World”
You are the greatest man I have ever known…
You have been one of the two most influential
and powerful forces in my life
since the day I was born…
You are the star I have been orbiting around
since I was young…
You have given me more than I could ever have wished for,
and you always have been and you always will be
the one who I look up to for strength and wisdom
from dawn ’til dusk, and from dusk ’til dawn.
I have learned so much from you…
to me and to everybody who knows you
you will always be unforgettable…
I have been to so many places
and I have seen so many magical
and incredible things in my life,
and thanks to you all those beautiful memories
live on and can be replayed any time of the day or night
in the form of videos and photographs
that you took when we were kids…
my childhood was a happy and wonderful time
because of you and Mum,
and I cannot thank you both enough,
and I cannot put into words
how lucky I feel to be your son.
Some things do last forever…
some people make you the person who you will be
for the rest of your life from the moment
that you look into their eyes and they look into yours…
I could never ask for a better Dad,
nor a more perfect father,
and when I look at your face,
and I think back on all the memories that we made together,
I know with all that I am
that I am the luckiest son in the world
to have as their Dad the greatest man
the world has ever known.
‘Playing God’ out now on Amazon
Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal… Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son. Playing God takes you on a journey that connects a hero of myth with a modern day hero of music.
You can get a copy of my new book, Playing God, below:
My Poem “Mum Love”
I love my Mum!
I love my Mum in so many ways…
I have loved my Mum since the instant
that I opened my eyes and I stared longingly
at her beautiful face…
I love my Mum and to me there is no one else like her…
I love my Mum and to me she
is the epitome of the perfect mother…
I love my Mum and she has loved me
since the day I was born…
I love my Mum and every day she gives
the gift of her loving soul to her family
while not expecting anything in return…
I love my Mum and I always will…
I love my Mum to me she will always be beautiful…
I love my Mum like a flower loves the sun…
I love my Mum, and just as my Mum will always love me
I will always love her
and I will always be her loving son.
Mark The Poet 