Summer

My Poem “The Last Day of Summer”

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

The sun is still shining bright,
the sky is still as blue as a baby’s eyes;
but the audible ferocity of the wind
blowing through the trees
and making the power lines sway
is signalling the obvious end of one season
and the beginning of another…
it’s getting cold again;
it’s time to throw on a hat, a scarf, a coat,
and maybe a pair of gloves,
when going outside and having to go
and to do what has to be done.

Everything, once again, is transitioning
and transforming before our eyes;
some people cannot wait for what is
approaching them at full speed,
while others just want things to slow down
while they catch their breath;
everybody is just trying to keep calm
and collected while they feel as if
they are being caught up in a storm
of feelings and emotions,
because there is this palpable sense
that everything, once again, is changing –
and for some people this time of the year
is always one of uncertainty and fear
mixed with feelings of anxiety,
because what is going to happen
will leave a lasting impression
and strip some people of their confidence
just like a tree is made to slowly
shed its leaves and then find themselves
surrounded by them,
and they can’t do anything about it.

Some seasons are long;
some seasons are short;
some seasons are beautiful;
some seasons are hard;
but every season is different
from all those that came before
and are all filled with moments of joy,
as well as with moments of sadness –
and no one can no what a season will give you,
nor what a season will take from you…
some people will never be able to express,
nor explain, why they always feel as if they are
more or less a version of themselves
that they never believed they would become –
especially those people who have to choose,
and have chosen, to do things that they know,
and knew, other people would not be able to see,
nor understand, until all was said and done.

Today is the day when the world itself
shifts its axis and drags everyone
into a new direction and down a path
that will not always be easy to navigate,
and impossible to reverse;
but this is what has to happen,
this day is when it always happens –
whether everyone realises it or not;
today is the day when everything
and everyone closes their eyes
and then opens them again
and just like that one season has faded away
and another season has already begun,
and today is the day and the time
when that biggest change of nature
comes in from the west and pushes
everyone into a new place
and into a new phase of existence;
today is the day and the time
which is also known as
“the last day of Summer”.

The Pathfinder: The Summer Rain

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites his poem “The Summer Rain” from his 2024 poetry collection ‘The Pathfinder’ – which is now available to buy in paperback and as an ebook from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/aXnSwxa and you can check out more of Mark’s poems at http://MarkThePoet.Me

My Poem “Summer Rain”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Listening to the summer rain
fall upon the windowpane,
I remember Summer's gone by
when I smiled and those when I cried...
I remember the sunshine and the love,
I remember the moonlight and the loss...
I remember every moment of connection,
I remember every time I felt as if
everything and everyone was forever -
and I still haven't learned my lesson...
I remember the ups and the downs,
I remember the highs and the lows,
I remember the deep conversations
that I had with people about life,
meaning, poetry, music, and sound -
and I remember time going by
so incomparably and wonderfully slow...
I remember, and I never forget -
that is my curse, and that is because,
at all times, I always try to do my best
to make something last
for as long as it possibly can.
The almost hypnotic sound
of countless water-droplets,
the intoxicating smell of a downpour,
the entrancing falling
of the veil of the world itself
opens something within me
to a series of places and faces
that were once my idea of perfection
but which are now only echoes of the past
that return and then are gone again
like the waterfall of time
of the summer rain.

A Poem A Day #585: The English Summer

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , ,
“The English Summer” 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 “The English Summer”

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
The Summer sun has arrived
upon the shores, on the beaches,
on the hills, in the parks, in the gardens,
and on the streets of the cities
of our island country...
the Summer sun has bestowed
upon the flowers, the trees,
the animals, the insects, the birds,
the people of the place I call home
a fresh wave of warmth and connection
like the tides of an ever present ocean...
the Summer sun has people
breaking out their barbecues
and gathering together to feast with one another...
the Summer sun has people
coming out of their shell
to sing, to dance, and to revel with each other...
the Summer sun has people
freeing themselves of their inhibitions...
the Summer sun has people
feeling like the time is right to
to go to places of beauty and fascination...
the Summer sun has a draw to it
that is the perfect stage for nature
to display its kaleidoscope of infinite colours...
the Summer sun has the gift
to be able to rejuvenate the spirit
and the gift to be able to give
an insight into the human experience -
but the Summer sun is also
something to enjoy in small doses,
because too much may cause more harm than good...
the Summer sun is shining bright in the sky
and as I bask in its rays I feel something
that reminds me of something
I have felt and I know well:
the odyssey of emotions and feelings
that all come together at the height
of the English Summer.

A Poem A Day #44: Summer’s Kiss

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , ,
“Summer’s Kiss” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘Poet of the Sphere’ which was published in 2012 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings

My Poem “Painting by Numbers”

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

The sun shines during the day…
the sky flashes during the night…
the heat is too much for some
people to take that they have to
spend most of their time
sitting in the shade…
within the dark clouds above
storms rage and echo the unparalleled
power of nature’s electricity
that manifests itself in the form
of both light and sound,
occasionally frenetically.

The summer months are usually
defined by the colours that are
seen emanating all around…
during the summer months
people usually take their time
to seek out a particular place
that they hope, or may already know,
will be somewhere special,
memorable, hopeful, and profound.

When painting a picture of the world
that they see, some people like to use
examples of other things
to compare their vision to,
for example: when someone sees
a beautiful person who is perfect
to them in every way, they may
compare them to a flower,
such as a daisy or a rose –
and in doing so they are
knowingly, or accidentally,
speaking in the language of poetry…
art, in its infinite forms, is an expression
of an artist who wishes to give
an example of who they are,
what they are, and what drives their heart
to share the story of something,
somewhere, or someone,
so powerfully, and yet so effortlessly
as if they were painting by numbers.

Mark The Poet – The Podcast: Episode #6

Mark Hastings Podcast , , , , , , ,

My Poem “A Summer Like No Other”

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

The Summer season is usually
a time that most people
look forward to and plan for…
the Summer is usually when
people have once in a lifetime
experiences that they
have never had before…
the Summer season is usually
when people spend most of
their time outdoors…
the Summer is usually when
everybody is smiling
from ear to ear and embracing
the rays of the sun
that seem to shine a light
on certain aspects of life
that inspire moments of awe.

The Summer season is supposed to be
when people enjoy certain examples
of beauty as they come into bloom…
the Summer is usually when people
like to take their time
when talking to one another,
face to face, instead of feeling
like every interaction is just one long zoom…
the Summer season is supposed to be
when people feel optimistic,
and they are generally in a good mood…
the Summer is supposed to be
when most people are singing with joy
and not crying because they had got
a bad case of the blues.

This Summer has already been filled
with so many examples of good news,
as well as the ultimate example
of bad news which we all know about
which in truth has felt like
one long, continuous, and engulfing
cloud that has been the epitome
of a bad dream that has
unfortunately come true…
this Summer has been one that
will forever be etched upon
the psyche of everybody
far into the future…
this Summer has been a time
in the lives of everybody alive
that will be something spoken about,
chronicled, and remembered as a
Summer when the whole world
had to do what they had to do
to protect the most vulnerable
and to preserve as much as possible
for the next generation…
the events of this year
will haunt humanity like a spectre,
because this year has felt like
a Summer like no other, and memorable
in most cases for all the wrong reasons.

My Poem “The Brightest of the Bright”

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

The sun has one again risen
in the sky as high as it can rise…
the light from the sun
that shines down upon us
is this years’ brightest of the bright…
the Summer solstice
has started in the Northern Hemisphere
of our planet and it is a time for some
of celebration and reverie in many forms,
and it is also a time when many people
gather together to welcome
this brand new season of the ever-repeating
and ever-evolving cycle of life.

Our world rotates
and does not stop doing so…
Earth changes and endures –
as do the life-forms who call it home…
time on our planet
is observed differently
and it is perceived
to have more moments
at this time of the year
during which people can enjoy
the delights of their outside environment
because there appears to be longer days
of consistent daylight.

Our planet’s relationship with the Sun
is a constant reminder to me
of how interconnected we will always be
to the celestial sphere of light,
heat, and hope that has been,
and always will be,
the catalyst in the natural development
of the celestial bodies
that have orbited it
since the birth of our closest star –
and I am sure that elsewhere
in the galaxies of the universe
that similar stars to our sun
share a similar connection
with what they have drawn towards them,
the other stars that shine
and ultimately combine to create
the tapestry of heavenly light
that makes the disk of a galaxy
look the way that it does
when seen from above
when all the stars shine in harmony
with their fellow brothers
and sisters of the heavens.