I like to think, I like to believe,
I like to tell everybody who I meet,
that each of us are born
with a particular gift,
that we are all born with a voice -
even if we do not feel as if we are...
I like to think, I like to believe,
in fact I know, that sometimes
there is a particular place
and there is a particular time
where and when whatever gift of ours
that is the most prominent
and the one that matters the most to us
is meant to be expressed -
and at a time of decision and change,
there is no better opportunity
for everybody to express what they think,
what they want, to ask questions and get answers,
to make their mark however they can.
Every day, those of us who are lucky
to have access to knowledge
and broadcasts from all around the world
are given the right to see something,
to hear something, to read something,
to have an opinion on something,
and are able to debate what we think
about something with someone else;
however, not every citizen of every country
has the ability, nor the means, to perhaps
go against the status quo
and share their particular experience
and point of view on something
based on what they have lived through.
No one is ever going to agree
with how the place that they call home
has seemingly, slowly but surely,
changed into something and somewhere different
and yet recognisable from how it used to be -
but most people always wish that the identity
of somewhere, something, or someone,
would stay the same way forever;
however, nothing, nowhere,
no one exists in a vacuum,
because everything and everyone
are meant to evolve into something else -
in the same way that a moth or a butterfly has to -
by design and over time.
Change is a symptom of a universal wave
of cause and effect that has not stopped
since the first almighty flash of light
set off the starting pistol of creation
with the biggest bang anyone has ever known,
and there is no sign of things regressing,
nor reversing, anytime soon -
so, with that in mind,
whenever you find yourself somewhere
and you are asked to say something
that will influence the shape
and the sound of the world to come,
do not turn down the moment
and the instance you are given
to speak your mind, to vote,
and let your voice be heard.
vote
My Poem “2020 Decision”
Everybody has a voice... everybody has a choice... everybody deserves the right to be able to put a line or an "X" in a box on a ballot paper for somebody who they have faith in to do what must be done to reinvigorate and re-establish the individual rights of a citizen... everybody can make a difference if they choose to show up, if they choose to make their mark, and if they choose to vote with their heart, with their mind, and if they choose to listen to what their intuition is telling them to do, when they need to make what could turn out to be a decisive and a historic decision.
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 ‘Civus mondus’
Every country,
every city, every town,
everywhere where people look,
see, listen, hear, sit, stand,
and walk around,
every member of every society
is a part of the whole
as well as an individual;
no matter where on Earth a place is,
it is the people who populate it
and who make somewhere
the place it is known for –
and with those people
there are rituals and archetypes of behavior
that distinguish someone
as a piece of a mosaic of a regional picture.
The place someone chooses to live
is telling of who they are;
the speed at which time and life goes by
is different all over the world;
there is always someone
who stands out from the crowd
of a connected group of people
for a reason, because in some way
they shine like a star;
there is always someone
who at alternating times of the day
leaves you both vocal and lost for words.
Order always rises from chaos;
differences of opinion
always generate a wave of change;
language, fashion, normality,
evolves and shifts and can cause
ground-shaking disturbances
like the Earths moving
and colliding tectonic plates;
peace can follow a prolonged period of rage;
sometimes modern life can feel like a race.
Just as you can’t stop a flood completely,
you cannot ever stop the world from spinning;
just as you can’t stop the rain from falling,
you can’t silence a people and species
who were born and are meant
to use their gifted, miraculous talent
to never stop talking and communicating;
just as long as the sun continues to shine
there will always be blue skies,
the world will never be truly predictable
or ever boring – because
as long as there is a world, a galaxy,
a universe, there will always be for everyone
the gift of something.
Choice is both the problem
and the solution to everything,
as the world continues its conversation
and delegation with itself
to find a mutual and universal understanding;
there will always be cycles of parallels
and juxtapositions;
as long as each and every one of us has a voice
and that voice can have an and every accent,
and can be expressed in any way,
we will all always be worldly
and universal citizen.
Mark The Poet 