winter

My Poem “Traverse”

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

Getting through life is not always
as straightforward as following a path…
getting through a world of darkness
is sometimes like trying to cross an ocean
without a compass or a guiding light…
getting through the pain of profound loss
is like proceeding across the wilderness of a desert
and seeing nothing but signs of what was…
getting back on your feet,
after being in a bad place
that you had come to believe
you might never return from,
is like trying to climb out of the darkest hole
ever to have opened up beneath
the surface of the Earth
and wondering why you were cursed
with what happened to you in life.

The only way to know
what is meant to happen,
and the only way to know
what is not meant to happen,
is to go where you are drawn to
and to not stop until you realise
something that you could only
have discovered by taking the steps
that you needed to make…
the only way to be sure
of your purpose in life,
and the only way to be sure
of what might be your undoing,
is to be honest with yourself
when you feel like you have reached a point
that may allow you to have
all that you have ever wanted –
but you may have to face up to the fact
that sometimes only a fragment of
what is put into something remains
before it too falls away like a leaf from a branch.

Winter is cold… winter is stark…
winter is a time when we cling on
to whatever and whomever we can
to get us through the present
before it becomes the past…
winter is a reminder of the importance
of being alive and not taking anything
not anyone for granted,
because nothing lasts forever in this universe…
winter is when the night sky
is its most striking and staggering,
and winter is also when we look up
and see the shining stars of our ancestors
and the light of those who we lost
but who we will always love,
as well as the place that one day
each of us will be called to travel to
and the divine divide that we will have to traverse.

The Pathfinder: Snowman’s Paradise

Mark Hastings books, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites his poem “Snowman’s Paradise” 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 “Christmas Special”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Some people, some things, some places
are special all year round -
but some people, some things, some places
feel more "Christmas Special"
because they can seem to symbolise
what makes Christmas the magical
time of the year that it can be.

Some songs, some films, some episodes
of some TV shows can only be
truly enjoyed when it is
the intended time of the year
that they were made to capture the feeling of -
whether that is the old favourite
Christmas songs like:
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love,
"Last Christmas" by Wham!,
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey,
"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues;
or festive movies, such as:
"Home Alone," "It's A Wonderful Life,"
"Miracle on 34th Street," "Scrooge,"
"Elf," or "Santa Claus: The Movie,"
and many, many others -
which over time have become
staples of the festive experience,
and without them Christmas
just would not be Christmas.

Some pieces of clothing -
such as festive sweaters and Santa hats...
some food and drink -
such as turkey, stuffing, mince pies,
mulled wine...
some decorations -
such as tinsel, baubles,
and of course Christmas trees...
some weather conditions -
such as snow and ice -
seem to go with the time of the year
when Christmas is celebrated,
but might seem out of the ordinary
and an inconvenience at any other time
before or after the month of December.

Some things just sum up what Christmas is all about
and what it means to so many people
all over the world...
some customs -
like decorating a real or an artificial tree,
or taking children to see Father Christmas -
are amazing and wonderful...
some of the rituals that people
like to partake in -
like going to church, lighting a candle,
or saying a prayer for
a dearly missed loved one -
are much needed for so many
to allow them to cope through
a sometimes difficult period
when so many people feel
at their most vulnerable...
some of the most precious
and joyous moments
you will witness all year
happen when people show how sharing,
how caring, and how selfless they can be -
and I think it is the way that people
communicate through their thoughts,
through their messages,
and through their actions,
which makes Christmas truly special.

Merry Christmas! 🎄

‘The Wolf in Me’ by Mark Hastings – audio book: Epilogue + ‘The Wolf of Winter’

Mark Hastings books, Podcast , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark recites the Epilogue of his 2017 novel, The Wolf in Me, and his poem ‘The Wolf in Winter’. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

A Poem A Day #414: The Wolf of Winter

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

“The Wolf of Winter” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s novella ‘The Wolf in Me’ which was published in 2017 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

A Poem A Day #188: Winter

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , ,
“Winter” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Sound of Mark’ which was published in 2014 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings

My Poem “When Hope Eclipses Fear”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , 
The other night the Wolf Moon shone
big and bright in the sky...
last night, before darkness fell,
the evening sky looked
as if it had been painting purple...
this morning the bright white moon
continued to be a spectacle
to behold long after sunrise -
however for some reason the Moon
looked more distant from Earth than it
had been just two days ago,
and it was at that moment that I realized
that Winter had officially arrived.

You can never truly know
what will happen during
the season of Winter -
other than it will be cold, it will be wet,
and occasionally it will be freezing
and naturally slippery under foot...
you can never truly predict
how the elements will effect you,
nor how testing this time will be...
you can never truly know
what to do, what to eat, what to wear -
other than to make sure that
you keep warm and think even more about
the needs and the well-being of those you love...
you can never truly predict what the conditions
of an average Winter day will be -
but you should definitely anticipate
that certain things might take longer to do,
you should remember to not take anything for granted,
and if you have to travel somewhere
you should consider whether
you have everything that you need
to get you from point A to point B.

Winter can be full
of a spectrum of moments -
ranging from the stark white
of a fresh snowfall
to the spectacular golden light
of a sunrise or a sunset...
Winter can be full of beautiful stillness,
especially at twilight, when
the stars at night shine brighter than
at any other time of the year...
Winter can be full of many colours,
stories, and surprises that find a way
of highlighting why for many reasons
Winter is when we see people at their best...
Winter can be full of uncertainty -
but with the help of those who
truly make a difference
and who matter the most
Winter can be the season when
hope eclipses fear.

Mark The Poet – Episode #69: “Life As We Know It”

Mark Hastings life, me, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode Mark reads three of his most recent poems: “It’s A Boy!”, “Frozen Tears”, and “Always”. Mark also attempts to share a message of hope for those who like most of the world are struggling with living their life as best as they can during the challenging times the people of the world are currently facing.

My Poem “Frozen Tears”

Mark Hastings life, me, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , ,

The snow fell slowly…
the snow fell deep…
the snow fell quietly…
the snow fell so peacefully
that while I was watching it
I drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, as I looked out
at the blue sky above
and at the white snow below,
I felt like I was a child
and I wanted to go outside
and walk in the snow –
and that is exactly what I did:
I put on my walking boots,
my coat, my scarf, and I threw
my rucksack on to my back
and I set out, one step at a time,
to explore the frozen beauty of nature
and the wonderful sights
that most of the time remain hid
before it was too late –
because even in nature things
are not always meant to last.

The sound of the snow cracking beneath
the soles of my boots was invigorating –
most likely because the sound of my own
footsteps was all that I could hear…
the way that the crystallised snow
sparkled and glistened as the sun
shined upon the pure white path
before me was dreamlike –
untouched, vast, like being within
a moment of time in which
there was no beginning and no end:
like staring at an eternal representation
of life and nature and feeling so moved
by this overwhelming and profound landscape;
and yet, even though I wanted to cry,
I was unable to conjure any tears –
I instead choose to close my eyes,
to breathe in and to breathe out,
to smile from ear to ear,
and to feel more blessed
that I had felt for years.

My Poem “Exposed to The Elements”

Mark Hastings life, me, Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , ,

Even when it is cold and wet
I like to get out of bed,
I like to get dressed,
and I like take a walk in the elements –
because just as when the weather
is fine and dry I enjoy nothing more
than being exposed to whatever
emanates unabated from the sky,
whether that is raindrops or golden sunshine…
my secret to not feeling cold,
as the wind around me whistles and howls,
is to keep going and to not stop
until I see, until I hear,
and until I feel as if
I have experienced moments
and instances that have imprinted
upon me and have left me inspired.

I live every day under the curse
of the imagination of a dreamer…
I live every day with the gift
of the eternal poet within my soul…
I live every day seeing the silver lining
around so many clouds filled
with lightning and thunder…
I live every day believing that
if we all stay upon the road
that is our sometimes up and down life
we will all one day arrive somewhere,
with something, or with someone,
that we will always want to have
and to hold and never let go of.

It can’t always be sunny…
life can’t always make sense…
the people whom we meet in life
can’t always be as sweet honey…
life can’t always be about pounds
and pence, or dollars and cents –
because what life is really all about
can only be found when you set out
and when you choose to be exposed
to the world and all of its elements.