The essence of all art is to transmute…
the art of being an artist
is having the gift to be inspired by something,
to be transformed by something,
and to create something that elevates something
to a new level of understanding…
the spirit of everything changes as it grows
and as it interacts with all that nature creates
when it endeavors to carve out a brand new groove…
the one thing that is irrefutable about life
is that it is changeable, sometimes unpredictable,
and everybody’s short time to shine
is something that is mutual…
as everything and everybody grows
their voice changes, the biology changes,
their psychology changes, the spirituality changes –
because life, in a nutshell, is all about change
in so many ways – even the sky above changes twice a day
from black to blue, and from blue to black…
the universe is not the same as it was when it began,
and neither is anybody the same person
their whole life through –
and that is a good thing, because what would a universe,
a world, a seed, an insect, a flower, an animal,
a person be if they were unable to transmute?
Voice
My Poem “Siren of the Stars”
When I look above
my attention is instantly captured…
when I listen to the hum of the night
the barrier between reality
and my dreams becomes fractured…
within the same moment
I see light and dark –
a bright sun and a full-moon…
among the stars
I see a pattern, a play,
a dance of light –
and then I see the sparkling eyes
and the perfect smile of my muse,
and my mind feels as if
it has left my body,
and I feel as if I am
floating through space and seeing
the multiple dimensions of the universe
one after the other…
I could be anywhere, at anytime,
at any age, at any moment of my life,
and all that I have to do
is look up to the sky and open my soul
and see, hear, and feel with all my senses
the siren of the stars.
My Poem ‘My Jam’
From All Hail The Silence, to BT…
from The 1975, to David Bowie…
from Savage Garden, to Johnny Cash…
from Ed Sheeran, to Set It Off…
from John Lennon, to Walk The Moon…
from Young Guns, to Muse…
from CHVRCHES, to Christian Burns…
from Bruce Springsteen, to Green Day…
from Lady Antebellum, to James Bay…
from Carrie Underwood, to a-ha…
from Armin van Buuren, to Bruno Mars…
from Bon Jovi, to Bryan Adams…
from Coldplay, to Michael Jackson…
from Tears For Fears, to Sixpence None the Richer…
from Daft Punk, to New Order…
from Prince, to Deadmau5…
from Tracy Chapman, to Crowded House…
and many many more –
that is but a selection of the artists
and the bands who make music
and who have created songs
that I adore and I listen to over and over.
Music is a great source of inspiration for a writer,
and the music and the songs that inspire me the most
are those with a message to them that touches my heart
and sets off a chain-reaction
and a rejuvenation of spirit within me like no other –
from Electronic Dance Music, to Rock…
from Classical, to Pop…
from fast, to slow…
from a ballad, to something wholly-instrumental –
I find great peace and beauty,
I find great love and serenity,
in hearing the voice and the music
of the heart of an artist, or artists,
that bridges the gap from my ears, to my mind…
from my imagination, to my soul.
My love for all types of music
stems from when I was a boy –
even as a child, I knew there was something special
to what I heard all-around me,
which others might just have
thought was background noise…
my heart has a rhythm to it
and it creates its own music with every beat –
and even now, when I hear a great song
that I haven’t heard before,
it doesn’t take me long
before my heart skips-a-beat
and I am tapping away with my fingers
and moving in-time, to the music I hear,
with every movement of my feet…
when I hear my favourite songs,
I secretly have this insatiable urge
to “bust-a-move” and dance –
there is a deep-seated reason
why music means so much to me,
there is a truth to why
I could never live without music
that stares right back at me every day
in the mirror of my mind…
whenever I listen to my playlist on my iPod,
I always get millions of sparks of inspiration,
and for a long-time after I finish listening
to my favourite songs I still hear
the echoes of the music
that make up “My Jam”.
My Poem ‘American Birthright’
“America is stronger
when it works together.
Americans are a people
who believe in fairness for all
and who live in hope.
America is special
and can have an
even brighter future.
Today every American
should let their voice
be heard, get out there,
fulfill their birthright and vote.”-Mark Hastings, 2016
My Poem ‘The Chosen One’
You are The Chosen One…
you are here for a reason…
you are capable of more
than you could ever imagine…
you are where you are…
you are doing what you are doing…
you are shining like a distant
star in the dark…
you are silent,
yet your voice is echoing…
you are instrumental…
you are elemental…
you are indomitable…
you are integral…
you are saying something…
you are expressing the intangible…
you are hearing something:
music, rain-drops, a concert,
a down-pour, a stream of consciousness,
nature, beats, a distant rumble in the clouds,
poetry, to be embraced, to be held,
to be grasped, to be assimilated –
because it all matters,
because it all makes sense,
because it all entrances…
think about it all:
who you are, who you choose to surround yourself with,
what has led you here and what has carried you this far…
for me, it is my heart that has brought me here;
this time was chosen for me
to shine my ray of light as the rain falls;
for me, moments are precious and timeless,
unregrettable and unforgettable;
my parents would have moved heaven and Earth for me
if they could while I was growing up, and even now…
choices are so important…
time should not be wasted
by wrapped yourself up with a chain of what if’s?…
an idea is magical…
realizing a mental-picture is potent…
seeing something that nobody else can see
is blessed and celestial…
if a flood looks like it is on the way,
if you think that you can’t weather it,
save what you can anywhere and any way that you can,
and try to swim through whatever comes rushing towards you,
and if all else fails build yourself a life-raft
out of anything that you can find,
and never lose the one thing that will save your life
if you let it… never lose hope…
because The Chosen One’s do not often
get a say as to when and why
they are thrust into the lime-light;
heroes become heroes because they save lives
and they give themselves freely to another
at their time of need;
the divine conductor sets the stage,
writes the melody, keeps the orchestra in-time and on-pace,
and gives gravity to everything,
and they are present every second of life –
when we die our destiny has been fulfilled,
however our impression on the sandy beach of life
still remains long after we pass-over
to what lies beyond the horizon;
anybody who touches, anybody who teaches,
anybody who takes a hold of their life
and who wants to love and share life’s
infinite riches of experience,
inspiration, and light from their perspective
does so because they must –
because they were given a choice
and asked a question, the answer to which
was in their heart their entire life –
because right from day one,
they were, as you are,
the chosen one.
My Poem ‘Love is an understatement’
Could a single word
every truly describe
the sparkle of belonging
and the beautiful infinity that you see
in the love of your life’s eyes?
Is it ever possible to understand
the reason why the stars shine so bright
and yet are so far away?
Is there anything more incredible
than sharing the miracle vista of a sunrise?
What can you say when you have said so much
and yet there is so much more to say?
There you are…
there is your face that I always see;
there is my star in the dark,
there is my heart’s desire,
there is my soul-mate
who makes me Me;
there you sit staring back at me;
there I go imagining myself with you
and you with me;
there you are, my incredible angel;
there before my eyes
I see the love of my life,
and you are so phenomenal
you are beyond beautiful.
A look can speak volumes;
words only have power
when they are understood;
true love is like a flower
when it blooms;
when your heart beats for someone else
you feel like you are in the middle
of an intense emotional flood
that gives rise to tears,
makes your thoughts form
and then pop like soap bubbles,
and makes you feel like you are on fire,
and you literally cannot hold back
the rush of your blood.
The moment that I saw you
something changed in me;
the moment that I told you
that I loved you
was only eclipsed in my mind
by the moment when you told me
that you loved me;
the moment that I first heard your voice
all that completed me
and guided me from that instant
was the melody and the lyrics of your song,
and I have replayed that magical moment ever-since;
you are my princess,
and I will always be your prince;
thinking back to the start of everything,
I always knew that our meeting each-other
and us being together was no accident –
in fact, I have proof that you were heaven-sent;
to use only one word to describe what you mean to me
and how you make me feel would be impossible,
because the only word that comes close is ‘love’ –
but just saying that Love is what I feel for you
ultimately would be an understatement.
My Poem ‘Poetry or Truth’
Poetry has the softest of voices,
but the loudest of echoes;
truth, just as beauty,
is in the eye of the beholder;
poetry speaks and always knows;
truth is the voice within
that is tempted to life
by the whispers of the light and the dark
as if personified by a good fairy
and a bad fairy sitting either side of your ears
resting upon your shoulders;
poetry is natural;
truth is often accidental;
poetry is limitless;
truth returns trust.
A traveler is always chasing light and time;
a detective is always chasing
the perpetrator of a crime;
two lovers are constantly in a dance with each other;
two sides of anything
always share an edge that binds them together.
When an astronaut on a space-station awakes
and they float from their bed to the nearest window,
all they want to look out and see
is the planet they orbit
and the vibrant sphere of light and colour
that looks as precious as a raindrop on a leaf;
when we all look up at the stars,
those who live among the stars
are constantly looking back at us;
when someone dies and we lay a wreath
we promise to never forget them,
even while they rest in the ground beneath;
when shooting-stars fly by
they shower us all with their interstellar magic dust.
Poetry or truth –
in my mind they are one and the same;
just as a coin is a token of currency with two faces,
dualities are how life is maintained;
truth can always be read in poetry,
and poetry writes of hidden worldly-clues;
true meaning is at the heart of everything
and it becomes even more apparent
when you ponder the question:
poetry or truth?
My Poem ‘Percussion’
The pitter-patter of raindrops
against a window early in the morning;
the foot-falls of steps
outside your door;
the dial-tone of a phone ringing;
the rumble of a crowd of people
reverberating over a floor.
The sound of drums;
the strike of lightning;
the impact of hand against instrument;
the synchronous movements
and almost-balletic arm accentuation
that make the musical performance of an artist
that much more exciting.
The voice of an instrument
that is brought to life by its player
as it was always meant
to be played and heard is magical –
the tone, the depth,
the range, the indistinguishable
call to rise of emotions
that only they can elicit
and evoke is phenomenal;
like the vocal-cords that vibrate
that allow someone to speak,
the unmistakable beat,
like that of a heart,
is its most effective
when it is allowed
to reach its natural peak.
No two ears hear the same;
no two players share the same gestures,
nor the same emotional connection
to a piece of music;
no two pieces of art
can coexist within the same frame;
every member of the same band
shares the same feeling
of being carried-away
and drifting like a flurry of snowflakes
on the wind.
The music of interaction;
the melody of harmony;
the natural cycle of repetition;
the actions of fluidity;
the language of notes;
the knowledge of keys;
the memory that never leaves;
the gift that comes with ease.
While there is still music playing,
while new songs are still being created,
while there is still the sound of waves crashing,
while new lovers of music are born
and want to become instrumentalists and percussionists,
the world will go on,
the Earth will play on and sing as-one,
the sources of all joy sadness
will continue to drum –
and those fluent in sharing
the music of the spheres of the universe
will want to continue to play
with all their heart the music
and the instruments of percussion.
My Poem ‘Easy’
The sound of a certain someone’s voice,
the need that has no choice;
the sight of a certain someone’s face,
the feeling of loving someone
in so many different ways;
the memory of a certain song,
the meaning that lasts so long;
the plans of the future,
the never-ending embrace
of a perfect lover.
Like the music of your childhood,
like the movies of your youth,
like giving a drop of blood,
like knowing without proof,
like the games that held your attention for hours,
like the tastes that you could never get enough of,
like the transcendental perfection
of the opening petals of a flower,
like the best kind of love
that feels like it has fallen from heaven above.
The easy, the free, the open, the hopeful,
the fresh, the new, the sweet, the beautiful,
the relaxed, the focus, the muse, the opus,
the great, the amazing, the fate, the exciting,
the butterfly, the moth, the smooth, the soft.
When you finally have what you have always wanted,
when you finally know beyond doubt
what you have always thought of,
dreamed about, and wished for,
when your life-long desire is standing
and looking at you on the other side of your eyelids
giving you a kiss,
then you know more than you could have ever known before –
but one thing that you know for certain
is that when things that are amazing
and life-changing are happening because of someone,
every step that you take because of them
is like dancing to the sound
of the beat of a song on a dance-floor.
There are some things that you just can’t make up;
there are some things that have the heart
and the soul of a great poet’s epic poetry;
there are some things that can be said with a look;
there are some things that mean so much,
and if you want them to be
can be so easy.
My Poem ‘We’ll always have Us’
A name cannot do justice to a picture,
a picture cannot do justice to a person,
a person who is as amazing and incredible
as you are in every way
every day as the day
that I first met you –
you are not only a part of my life,
you are my entire world;
even the sight of the curvature of your smile
makes me happy beyond content –
because to me your smile, your face,
your eyes, your hair, your voice
is uniquely yours and like no other.
I believe, that you believe,
that you and I are of the same heart and mind;
you believe, as I believe, that you and I
have been meant to be together from birth;
I believe, that you believe,
that you and I are one of a kind;
you believe, as I believe, that to both of us
there is no one like either of us
anywhere on Earth.
I crave to hear your voice;
I need to see your beautiful face;
I live to be with you;
I would do anything and everything for you;
we both know everything
that we need to know about each-other;
this poem is my love letter to you,
the woman of my dreams –
who is a part of me,
as I am a part of you.
Some things in life are fate;
love that is meant to be knows no bounds;
you mean more to me than words could ever say;
when I see you, the love of my life,
there are only smiles to be seen
and never frowns.
People share things with each other;
some people will always have a summer,
a moment, a place, a time –
just as some will always have London, or Paris;
people just know when something
feels as natural as a beautiful flower of nature,
you and I will always have it all –
because, we will always have each other,
we will always have Us.
Mark The Poet 