strength

My Poem “Nightingales”

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

Walking out into the morning light,
as the sound of the Nightingale’s song
can be heard heralding a new day,
men and women seamlessly
cross paths and exchange
distinct and yet unique calls
of mutual and reciprocal
strength, solidarity
and understanding
to one another in order to help
sustain those continuing
to give care to those in need
as well as to give those returning home
something to aid their sleep
as they prepare to say goodnight.

The care of patients in hospitals
is a round the clock necessity…
the care of people struggling
to breathe these days is among
the highest of priorities…
the attention given to people
unable to fully realize what
is happening to them is done delicately…
now is the time when we see –
almost every hour of every day –
so many examples of people
exhibiting the best traits of humanity.

The daily lives of countless people
have been effected and disrupted,
and everybody in one way
or another has had to adapt to
different ways of behaving that may
have seemed alien before the world
was seemingly turned upside-down…
we are all trying to be there for
those who are in lockdown
and those who are sheltering within
their homes because they are among
our society’s most fragile.

Being caring and thoughtful
in the service and in memory of others
is always a powerful way of thwarting
any and all inner demons and doubts…
being there when and where we are needed
and never ceasing to make our
calls of hope resonate as loud as possible
is what we can all do every moment
of every day and in turn use
the power of our voices in such a way
that may be heard and remembered
to be just as distinctive and joyous
as that of the sound of
a nightingale’s chorus.

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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 ‘Leap of Faith’

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

My faith is strong;
in my opinion, in this day and age,
keeping your faith
is one of the most important things
that you can do;
depending on what you are going through
at any given time,
some things feel so right
and some things just feel so wrong.
To me, holding on to any kind of faith
is the only way that anyone
can experience the miraculous joy
that comes with a day that feels
truly beautiful and new.

Doubts can set anybody back;
worrying can be paralyzing;
how to find a way out of a maze
that you find yourself in
can be hard to grasp;
waiting for a sign
telling you what you should do next
can be agonizing –
but there is salvation to be found;
there is a power that can help you
ride the wild ocean waves of life
that you see coming towards you…
there is a music and a voice
that can guide you,
and you do not even need to hear a sound…
there is a light of both day and of night
that illuminates what you need to do
brighter than the sun, or the shine of a full-moon.

We all need somebody…
we all need something…
we all need a force stronger than gravity
in our life that keeps us from falling…
we all need that which helps
a single small acorn grow into
the most amazing, blossoming, and mighty of Oak trees.

There is a way
for each and every one of us to feel safe…
there is a way
for us all to get through
seemingly unimaginable long days…
there is a way
for each of us to find a blessing –
by simply thinking about the best things in their life,
or by kneeling down to pray…
there is a way through everything –
but first you must promise yourself
to not give up on hope,
and seek answers to your questions,
and do what comes naturally
to those who are truly willing
to believe in something…
those who are not afraid
to take a running-jump
into a leap of faith.

My Poem ‘Winter’s Solace’

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

Life can sometimes be hard;
sometimes people can live a life of silent pain;
life can sometimes feel like an endless night,
during which the time until the arrival of new light
can seem too long;
sometimes all you need to have in your life,
to get you through a tough time in your life,
is your one and only best-friend –
especially when you feel low…
especially when you feel like you have nowhere to go…
especially when you are up all night
and you sleep through the day…
especially when you need the strength to be brave.

There is always hope, even in darkness;
you can always find solace,
even at the centre of a world of madness;
keep a hold of your faith,
even when you do not at first
recognize the voice of God;
keep love in your heart, always –
and with it you will live and breathe with a purpose,
and every time when you fall to sleep
you will rest like a log.

As the world turns, seasons change…
as the days run away with themselves
it is so easy to feel as if you are losing your place…
as the clouds gather, it can be hard to see
the light of the sun…
as the hours feel like they are merging into one,
everybody needs to stop time,
everybody needs to gather around a source of light –
because everybody needs some peace,
like that which you find in a sun-drenched
autumn-colored forest…
everybody needs some winter solace.

My Poem ‘One of a kind father’

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

The real and true super-man of my childhood;
the one man while growing up
who could make anything and everything happen;
the hero of great strength,
whose greatest super-power makes us who we are,
because they are a part of us,
just as we are a part of them,
and because their life-force
is literally in our blood;
the man who we look to
and imprint on from day one;
our Dad, our father,
our sun who shines down and smiles upon us
when we are feeling sad;
our life-giving, caring, amazing, creator
who for us there could be no other.

Birthdays, holidays, unmissable moments
that would not be the same
without that one special person;
first words, first voices, first steps
that may never have been
without the man who watched over us,
and who called to us,
and who encouraged us to never stop;
mornings, nights, early rises, bedtimes
that always would have been missing
something and someone important
if we had not have had them;
the constant giant
who we all looked to
as our all-powerful god.

My Dad loves his family,
and my family love my Dad;
if it were not for my Dad
I would not be the man that I am,
nor would I have had the extraordinary,
happy, love-filled life
that I have been blessed to have had;
my father and my mother
were always fated to meet each other
and to be together,
and while there is blood in my veins,
and air in my lungs,
I will always feel the spirit, the love,
and I will always speak the name
of the best man in my life,
who will be with me everyday…
and that man is my incredible, wonderful,
amazing, one of a kind, father.