spirit

My Poem “The Xmas Factor”

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

No matter what happened in the hours,
in the days, and in the months before,
at the festive time of the year
those of us who are naturally
optimistic and altruistic
like to immerse ourselves
and fully embrace the Christmas spirit
and like to spread some Christmas cheer…
no matter how hard things may have been,
and no matter what has been endured,
Christmas time is always when
those young and old like to give,
and are given, gifts both big and small,
both fun and personal,
to show how much their presence
and their connection to one another matters.

No matter how old we may feel most of the year,
at Christmas time everybody can remember
what it was like to be a child –
especially when they look at the faces
of the children who are the next generation
and you see their eyes widen
and their smiles grow after they
unwrap the gifts that they have been given…
no matter who someone is,
and no matter where someone comes from,
it is always nice to be kind to those
who don’t have what you have
and also to remind people that –
though it may appear that we all live very different lives –
that does not mean that we aren’t
integral to each other’s happiness.

Christmas is more than Christmas trees,
Christmas songs, Christmas cards, Christmas crackers,
Christmas dinner, Christmas lights, even Christmas presents,
because Christmas is about family –
and not just the family of our genetic lineage,
because “family” can include the family
of friends that we have accumulated over the years
who have stuck by us no matter what –
and that is why we should never forget who we are,
and who each and every one of us
all around the world are to one another:
one, big, human, family –
even though some people sometimes
need to be reminded of that fact.

There are lots of ways to celebrate…
there are lots of ways to make
the world a better place to live in
for those who you know,
and for those who you may never meet…
giving the gift of your time matters more
than some people might realise –
as does the gift of thinking
about others before yourself
and being the reason that people feel included…
there are many reasons to feel grateful
for what, and for whom, you have in your life –
and some of the most important
and indefinable reasons
only become apparent when it is
the right time of the year
and there is a visceral feeling of hopefulness
that can be felt, and which lies
at the heart of what Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas!

‘The Wolf In You’ by Mark Hastings – audiobook – Chapter Thirteen: “Out of Body”

Mark Hastings books, Podcast , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites Chapter Twelve of his 2019 novel, ‘The Wolf in You’: “Out of Body”. ‘The Wolf in You’ is the sequel novel to Mark’s 2017 novel, ‘The Wolf in Me’, and continues the story of Olivia Hunter – a mother, a teacher, a lover, a werewolf still trying to find a way to walk a line between two different and divergent worlds, who has to fight every day to find the strength to do what must do, and the strength to be who and what she is destined to be. When Olivia Hunter and her daughter, Melissa, begin a new life, in a new house, in a new place, new and dangerous threats reveal themselves from the shadows and push Olivia and the Wolf within her to the limit; however, along the way, Olivia finds a new love in the shape of a mysterious and enigmatic man who is not what he seems, and who himself is fighting a fight for survival. 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

A Poem A Day #613: In spirit

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , ,
“In spirit” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Comeback Kid’ which was published in 2023 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

My Poem “Golden”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
The golden light of the sun setting
shone through my bedroom window,
as I sat thinking about time,
my life, the world, the universe
and the fact that I am truly blessed
by what I have and what I treasure
more than I could every say...
the blinding light of the sun
that fills my eyes with glorious sunshine
inspires my thoughts and enlightens my soul
and makes me think about what
and who makes me happy every day...
the stream of sunlight that I am graced with
showers me with a purpose
and makes me smile, sigh,
and feel like a child again...
the light of the world that I see is exquisite
and the mysteries of the Multiverse
that I think about as I feel myself
being carried away as if by the tide
of some interstellar ocean of energy
take away any feelings of regret and pain...
the sun will always be there for you,
as the sun had always been there for me,
like the personification of a shepherd
that guides their flock to where they need to be,
at the same time communicating
with light what can never be told...
the glow of daylight,
as it transitions into twilight,
is bright, clear, breathtaking
and shows just how much of life
and everything that we are all bound to
is made up of a spirit that is truly golden.

My Poem “The Christmas Spirit”

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
As so often happens,
I was sitting at my usual table
in Starbucks when a song
that I had never heard
by one of my favourite artists -
the one and the only "Man in Black",
Johnny Cash - started to play...
the song was "I Heard the Bells
On Christmas Day" -
and as soon as I heard
this Christmas carol
in its own right that blessed all
who heard it "peace on Earth"
and "goodwill to men",
I started to think about
the true meaning of the season
and why music has always
been an important way
for families and individuals to say
what they want to say to one another.

Music is just as fundamental to some
as living is to breathing for others...
the voice of a singer can break down
barriers and unite people
from many countries, with many accents,
with many back stories -
who can all find times to set aside
their differences whenever they
come together and stop and listen
to someone with a message
they felt within their heart
as well as within their mind
that someone else needed to hear.

Christmas songs are only played
at this time of the year,
and every year new songs
are written and recorded by artists
that dream of being number one
and perhaps remembered
as fondly as those that repeatedly
return to our ears year after year;
however, I would say there are only
a handful of Christmas songs that are
enjoyed, replayed, and loved by many:
John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over),
"Last Christmas" by Wham!,
"White Christmas" as sung by Bing Crosby,
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid,
"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues, and, of course,
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey -
because these songs have over time
become quintessential in capturing the Christmas spirit
like no others are able to,
and personally all these songs always
put a smile on my face every time I hear them
and make me more and more ready for Christmas
and overflowing with Christmas cheer.

My Poem “Perseverance”

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

The perseverance of imagination
is what gives an artist their muse…
the perseverance of an extraordinary idea
is what inspired the first philosophers,
the first explorers, the first inventors,
the first daredevils, the first pilots,
the first men to set foot on the moon…
the perseverance of a team of dreamers
is what has propelled all the man-made
exploratory robots launched into space
to get close up eye-views of the planets
of our solar system and has led to trails
of human built wheels to leave their mark
upon the dusty copper coloured
surface of the planet Mars.

Perseverance is having the strength
of mind to decide to not give up
no matter the distance that has to be crossed…
perseverance is moving forwards despite
others having reservations about your plan
because you know with all that you are
that not following your heart
would be a sacrifice with too high of a cost…
perseverance is finding answers to questions
that were once thought to be irrevocably lost…
perseverance is thinking about the potential
future of everyone on Earth instead of anchoring
yourself to the ideals of the distant past.

The perseverance of life is why there
is so much diversity of species
that is unique to this beautiful planet…
the perseverance of light is why
stars continue to shine long after
their life-span has come to an end…
the perseverance of spirit is why
singers continue to sing,
why painters continue to paint,
why actors continue to act,
why dancers continue to dance,
why people listen to music, fall in love,
and often find themselves living in a trance.

The secret source of success
is not achieving more of something
than somebody else –
the secret of true success is realising
what it takes to do what has to be done,
what it takes to make it through the hard times,
why it is important to believe in yourself,
why it is important to believe in others:
because it is remarkable what extraordinary
feats can be achieved by people
when they are inspired and they are compelled
by the power of perseverance.

My Poem “The Spirit of Life”

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

Whatever is within
must undoubtedly come out…
whomever is on the inside
must reveal themselves…
whatever remains to be said
will one day be said out loud…
whomever is usually free-spirited,
outgoing and who seeks the most
potent moments of life
will do whatever they can to
rebel and break free from
confinement above all else.

Whatever someone thinks
they know about themselves
the person who knows them the most
is their own reflection,
their own thoughts,
their own dreams, their own shadow,
their own voice, their own ghost…
whomsoever comes into a person’s life
will have an impact that cannot be
estimated or fully understood
until long after that first contact
grows into something meaningful,
substantial and it evolves
beyond to become something
deeper that can be shown.

Whatever drives the reason
for why someone does something –
something that was the initial idea
that created a spark into action –
will always remain at the heart
and will never stop being the source
from which every action afterwards
is generated…
whomsoever responds to whatever
they see, hear, feel and experience
are voluntarily and involuntarily
participants and contributors
in the process of maintaining
the fundamental stream and flow
of the spirit of life
that so many people see in others
and consider to be something important
that needs to be revered, cherished,
and never maliciously sedated.

My Poem “The Spirit of a Poet”

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

Right from the start
it was the words of The Bard
that started the spark
that grew into the light in the dark
that is the poetry of my heart
and the gift that I use
to leave my mark…
I will bow before the master of language
that is William Shakespeare
for as long as I live and breathe –
and whenever I write a verse of poetry
I will always remember where I was
when I first read the Sonnets of The Bard
and the spirit of a poet was born within me.

Rest In Peace, William Shakespeare


My Poem “The Wolf Moon”

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

As the Wolf Moon rose in the East
and immediately filled the dark night-sky –
just like a werewolf from a horror movie –
as soon as I looked up to the moonlight
I found myself unable to fight, nor deny,
that which I was feeling in that moment:
this instinctive urge
to howl like a wild animal
and let go of who I was, what I was,
where I was, and run off
into the woods and feel
the spirit that I knew was within me
drive me to a moment of transformation
from which there might be no coming back…
I could already perceive my senses
start to become more heightened,
and I swore that I could feel the sensation
of excess hair starting to grow upon my back;
however, then, in the same instant
that I was feeling almost overwhelmed
by my uncontrollable thoughts,
emotions, and racing heart,
as if planned from the start,
I heard in the distance the sound
of a Wolf’s howl and I knew immediately
that this cold January night was when
a fellow creature of the twilight
was calling out to anyone or anything
that had within them the heart,
the spirit, and the strength
that only a Wolf feels and knows
that they must express,
because of the explosion
of undeniable energy within them
that surges below their skin –
and that was what I felt
when the fuse inside me
was immediately ignited
by the sight of the glorious Wolf Moon.

My Poem “More than we might know”

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

Christmas Day is but once a year,
however the way that some people
make us feel every day
is enough to make us what to cry
tears of love and joy
because we know how lucky we are to
have them close and near.

Christmas time is when people tend
to think about others more than usual,
and Christmas time is also
when people often also
tend to reflect back upon
everything that life has tested them with,
especially as we all grow older
and we remember things in the past
that we may have accidentally taken for granted.

Everybody is this life needs somebody
to hear them, to think about them,
to give them the gift of their time –
even is it is only in the form of
a greetings card that tells someone
that you were thinking about them,
because no one who has done so much
good for other people ever deserves
to be forgotten or left behind.

Time is precious…
people are vulnerable…
there are people in this world
who have lost everything
because of a natural disaster,
because of homelessness,
because life has not been kind to them –
and this time of the year is when
a large population of the world
considers what means the most to them,
and the greatest gift
that we can all give one another –
as members of the collective
human family of this planet –
is respect, peace, and an opportunity
for everybody to find happiness
while doing something
that gives their life meaning.

We can all be better people sometimes…
we can all be better at communicating
our feelings – however, there are times
when talking is the hardest thing to do,
especially when you feel like nobody
could ever understand
what you are going through…
we can all be better listeners –
however, the ability to fully listen
and to hear what someone is trying
to tell you is harder than you think.

We can all be there for somebody
in particular when they need
the gift of someone to be there for them,
to make time for them,
to embody the spirit of the season,
and to get them through the sometimes
harsh Winter of the Northern Hemisphere
and the sometimes uncomfortable Summer
of the Southern Hemisphere –
because no one is immune to life,
because everybody is human,
and it is important that we all
remember, as often as possible,
who we are, what we are,
how short our time to shine is,
and that it takes almost no effort at all
to be present in the life
of somebody who may needs us
more than we might know.