system

My Poem “The Nervous System”

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

Not only is the human body
an impressive end product
of evolutionary biology,
it is also an intricate and
highly complex network of electricity
that is integral for the communication
of the systematic pulses and signals
of coordination that define a person’s actions
and what they sense about
their surrounding environment –
in fact every animal on Earth
has both a Central Nervous System
as well as a Peripheral Nervous System
that is directly responsible for
many of the things that individuals
can do and often times take for granted.

There are over 7 trillion nerves
in the human body…
there are over 86 billion neurons
in the human brain…
the average human being can produce
between 100 and 2000 watts of energy…
the average person’s heart will beat
60 to 70 beats per minute –
meaning that a person might end up
producing 2 billion beats over a lifetime,
which to me in absolutely astounding!

There is so much that we do know
about how the average human body functions…
there is so much that we do know
about how long the average human
man or woman will live based
upon their lifestyle choices…
there is so much that we know
about how the different and individual
systems of our bodies work in unison
with one another;
however, when it comes to the brain,
doctors and experts are still trying
to figure out exactly why and how
the Central Processing Unit that
is the place where we think, we dream,
and we interpret what we feel
into emotion actually works.

There is more to our own selves
than we could possibly imagine…
there is more to how we do
what we do than we could understand…
we know more about the surface of the sun
than we do about our own minds…
there is more to learn about how
we intuitively perceive some things
about life that still does not make sense…
there is more to learn about everything –
and there is no more fundamental,
and yet still mystifying, internal
highway
that we still need to uncover
all the secrets of, which makes all
complex life on our planet possible,
than that which is our incredible and
interconnected nervous system.

My Poem ‘Radio’

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

Sometimes, some days,
I feel like a radio…
sometimes, some days,
inspiration is ready and waiting
for me to wake up –
even first thing in the morning
when I look out my bedroom window
and I see the light of the sun…
sometimes, some days, it takes me a minute
to receive and to re-tune to the right frequency –
to the universal station of inspiration
that I always listen to…
sometimes, some days, I need to download
an update to my internal, poetic,
biological operating-system,
and think in a way that I have never thought before,
and seek-out a higher-power with a question
of something that I do not yet know.

Sometimes I need to be in the right place…
sometimes I need to be in the right mood…
sometimes I need to be thinking the right thoughts,
or seeing the right face…
sometimes, to get the best and the strongest
inspiration-signal, I need to focus…
I need to close my eyes…
I need to go within myself
and touch the source of my soul…
I need to let my daydreams free
and use my gifts to turn them into words…
sometimes, when I am writing,
it is like I am solving a mystery
by following and piecing-together
a string of clues.

I write, and I express myself, noticeably differently
depending on the time of the year, the time of the day,
and the time that I spend somewhere…
sometimes what I write, and where it comes from,
is just as much of a surprise to me
as it is to those who read what I write –
sometimes I can honestly say
where a piece of inspiration comes from,
and sometimes I just don’t know…
the art of writing is first learning how to listen –
and, to me, music is a vital source of inspiration
that is beyond-compare…
sometimes, before you can give,
you first need to receive –
and sometimes the best way to do that
is to do what I do,
and to think like a radio.