Truth
‘The Wolf In You’ by Mark Hastings – audiobook – Chapter Eleven: “I had no idea”
My Poem “The Whole Truth”
I have looked into someone's eyes and I have told them that I loved them - and, every time I have, it has felt like an infinite moment of time... I have listened to someone speak and I have been so entranced by their voice, in what I can only describe as a perfect moment, that they have made me feel happier than when I was a child... I have had experiences that felt like dreams, because when I was living certain moments with certain people I felt as if I could happily repeat those same moments over and over again - because in those moments I felt comfortable exposing a part of myself that I do not normally put on show; however, like most people, I always leave clues... I have wondered, as I have wandered, why do things happen when, where, and why they do? However, I have come to realize that life has its own plan and story to tell that only makes sense if and when you are lucky enough to get to know the whole truth.
My Poem “Walk The Walk”
Some people say that they are going to do something, but they never do... some people say that they are going to be somewhere, but they never are... some people make promises to make something happen, but they never make the right moves... some people say that they are going to make a difference but they never make their mark. Talking about something is good... dreaming about something is wonderful... one drop of anything can eventually lead to an epic flood... believing that someone will be there for you when you need them is great, because it is necessary in life to trust and to have faith in people. Not everything can happen how we want it to... sometimes some people are, unfortunately, all talk... not everybody is as forthcoming about their intentions and motivations, and sometimes someone who we thought would never change can surprise us by doing something we never thought they would do... in my experience, if and when you can, you should always endeavour to be a person of your word, and when you need to, if you are able, if you are going to talk the talk make sure that you also walk the walk.
My Poem “The Misunderstood”
Everybody always looks to their peers
for a familiar face to trust…
everybody always looks to
who they seek out on a regular basis
for guidance about what to think,
what to believe, what to do,
and what is the truth…
everybody always looks to the images
that they see being presented
in newspapers, in magazines,
on television, in movies,
and on the screens that they use to
access the infinite streams of the internet –
and everybody sees some things
and everyone sees some people
slightly differently depending upon
their own personal opinions, attitudes,
experiences, and past relationships.
I believe that some things are not open
to interpretation, for example:
we are all human beings,
we all live on the same planet,
we all breathe the same air,
we all have the same colour blood
coursing through our veins –
and though we are not all the same
physically, psychologically,
or emotionally, we are all people,
we all need the same vital things
to survive, to grow, and to thrive,
and the fact is that some people
in this world have had it worse than
other people could ever truly imagine.
I think everybody needs to focus
more on what we all have in common
rather than on what divides us
and we all need to treat one another
with all the respect that we are due
through acts of selflessness,
mentoring, sharing, and coming to
an understanding that hopes to help
heal the scars of the past
so that everybody can one day
be defended and represented
by those who chose to rise above
the use of violence to settle their
problems and instead decided
to reach out and find a dialogue
of words and actions that they
hoped over time would help
to right some of the many wrongs
that have been wrought upon
the innocent, the forgotten,
the lost, and the misunderstood.
My Poem “The Forbidden”
The draw of the forbidden…
the urge to explore
the places where very few
people have been before…
the instinct to reveal the truth
of that which is hidden,
the call of the wild
that has compelled many people
to seek out, to feel,
and to capture the energy
and the spirit that some things
naturally emanate –
symbolized in many stories
as being an apple, a chalice, a ring,
a fountain, a plant, a monolith,
a message left for others to find
so that they may experience
profound revelations that will
fundamentally change the way
that they see the world,
as well as change how they see themselves,
are as prevalent in the tales
that humanity has been telling itself
since the beginning of language
and the start of our path of discovering
who we are and what we are
in the grand scheme of universal understanding.
It is the quest of the forbidden that gives
a journey into the unknown its potency…
it is the question of what lies beyond
all the maps that have been drawn
that has attracted all the explorers
that have ever been born…
it is the danger of a forbidden vortex
that storm-chasers lust to race towards
that awakens within them
the same deep longing to push the envelope
of what is possible that precludes
so many people from being able
to silence the voice inside them
that tells them loud and clear
to never decline an opportunity
to take a bite out of
the fruit of the forbidden,
to experience what it takes like,
and to see where it takes you.
My Poem “Verbatim”
There is a story behind everything…
there is a reason for everything…
there is a story to be told about everybody…
there is truth to be found
about the human condition
by listening to everybody.
Everybody is capable of being
a storyteller with a varied
and a different perspective
on everything, because
everybody experiences the world uniquely –
which is why no voice
should be ever silenced or muted
because their opinions
do not run in parallel
with that of the status quo…
everybody is capable
of expressing themselves somehow –
even if it is with the power of a stare
or a passive but noticeable gesture
that is a part of the universal
art of getting your point across
and making your intentions known.
Stories are wonderful things –
however, stories have a way
of taking on a life of their own…
some stories can start out
being about something
small and insignificant –
however, when stories are internalized
and personalized then can be reshaped
and retold in many different ways…
stories can be given names –
especially those that were inspired
by real life events and circumstances…
stories always have characters in them –
and on occasion storytellers
often exaggerate the qualities
and the attributes of a particular
character in order to make the story
that they are telling more dramatic…
some stories are referred to as
“Chinese whispers”, because they grow,
because they change, because depending
on how many times they have been told,
heard, retold, and shared –
though the seed at the centre
of the same story remains the same –
little by little, with every passing
iteration and narration,
a story can lose some of it’s most
fundamental facts,
and the devil that is in the details
of a story can become a shadow
of what was initially intended
to be a story told word for word.
My Poem “Undercover”
Undercover, under the hood, under the skin –
whether sitting under the shine of the sun,
or at times when under the weather,
whether it is raining or sunny –
everybody is somebody else,
everybody has a secret identity,
everybody dreams, thinks,
feels, and dwells upon
the reflection of the one
who they see within themselves
when they internalise with their
inward looking eyes…
Under normal circumstances
the best way to understand
why we do what we do
and who we are would be to stop
ourselves and to scrutinise
what we truly want and desire
and to ask ourselves whether
the actions that we have taken
have been progressive or self-destructive
in order to find the bliss
that we wish we had within our grasp…
Under investigation the sins
and the crimes that we are guilty of
are clear as day –
but just because we might be guilty
of being selfish from time to time
that does not mean that heaven does not await
each and every one of us
if we seek and follow a path of redemption
and if we first forgive ourselves
for being human and fallible…
Under a microscope
a scientist may be able to discover
a lot about what makes our biology
the way that it is and how different
we are from other people
who might look similar to how we appear –
however, the truth of the matter is
that everybody is a product
and the result of an experiment
that has been ongoing
for billions of years
and characters in a story
that each of us has a version of
that we tell ourselves all the time,
that binds everybody and who
and how they see themselves
when they are looking at the world
from under a cover.
My Poem “Quotes”
“I have always loved reading quotes,
I have always loved sharing quotes,
I have always loved the way that
something that someone once said
is captured, written down,
and recorded for posterity,
because what someone in particular
said at a particular time
captured the attention and the imagination
of someone, got inside them,
and changed them profoundly –
sometimes to the degree that the words
that someone once uttered,
perhaps just in passing,
struck something deep inside
and grew to become their life-long motto
and the words that they daily live by.
The right quote, at the right time,
can be a powerful thing…
the right words, said by the right person,
when someone is sorely in need of wisdom
can be like rocket-fuel for the mind…
the right insight from the first-hand
experience of another person can be like
a parachute for someone – allowing them
to gently glide back down to Earth
from a place high above the ground –
when they feel like they are falling through life,
and it can create metaphysical wings
to make a person believe that they are soaring…
the right collection of interconnected letters
and words can reveal so much about
what is going on within a person’s mind
that they sometimes find that they have to hide
from everybody observing them on the outside.
Quotes are amazing to me,
because they are like gold nuggets of wisdom
and inspiration that people sometimes find
when they are sifting through
the fast-moving stream of life…
magical rainbows of colour and depth
that show themselves after a rain-storm
of uncertainty and unpredictability
that are brought to light when the right
conditions present themselves
and beauty arises and when truth
and nature come into alignment.
The best quotes ever captured
are poetic in so many ways –
and usually more so than the speaker
who was the source was ever conscious of
when they said them…
when I read something, when I hear something,
when I feel something in something
that someone else has said,
it is always impossible for me
to not be affected by it –
especially if what I have read, what I have heard,
what I have felt was something that
instantly and immediately had an impact on me…
to me some of the most inspiring words of wisdom
that still haunt the world
are the true ghosts and the real spirits
of people who may have long-since passed on,
but who will live on forever
through their poignant, timeless,
and immortal quotes.”
-Mark Hastings, 2019
My Poem “Catharsis”
Whatever you internalize,
whatever you take in,
whatever you analyze,
whatever you hear,
whatever you taste,
whatever you touch,
whatever you see –
especially if it is something
that challenges you in some way –
at some point, ultimately,
has to be released and set free…
that is why art – poetry, painting,
drawing, movies, television, books,
theatre, carpentry, comedy, music –
is so important to society,
because it gives us an excuse
to externalize our inner thoughts and feelings.
Expression can be powerful…
creation can be trans-formative…
exposure to things can be inspirational…
discovering who you are and who you want to be
can define how, where, when,
and with whom you want live…
sometimes you only have an inkling
about what is bubbling away inside of you,
below the surface of your day to day thoughts –
and it is only at moments when your internal
defenses and barriers have been lowered enough
when what is within you is allowed to come out…
there is something evocative about
watching something being performed live –
like watching an artist or a band
let their art and their distinctive
sound and voice speak for itself –
that just overtakes you, consumes you,
and makes you do things and say things
that you would not ordinarily do.
The only way to find the answer
to a question is to ask it…
the only way to discover the truth
of something is to explore it…
the only way to get through life
is to live it, to fight for it,
to embrace it, to worship it,
to take chances, to take risks…
the only way to be is to be a poet –
because a poet lives every day
a life of reflection, of contemplation,
of inflection, of internalization,
of externalization, of expression,
of liberation and catharsis.
Mark The Poet 