Mark Hastings

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Hi there! I’m Mark Hastings! I’m afraid I am not someone who plays an instrument, or sings; however, what I am, what I love, and what I one day hope to be, is a poet and dreamer who can move the world with his poetry. I haven’t always been a poet, and while growing up I was not much of a writer; however, I was always a boy that saw the world to be that much brighter; I always looked upon friends more optimistically than they saw themselves; and when I dreamed I dreamed of starships, far-off worlds, and elves; I watched TV, listened to music, and read the great works of the best- Star Trek, John Lennon, Shakespeare, Tolkien- with enraptured interest. While growing up I loved to draw, paint, and I loved to use vibrant colours; I loved works of art that resonanted and harmonized with what naturally occurs; however, when it came to rhymes, poets, poems, and poetry, I always fell-short- I suppose, in retropsect, it was a fear of misunderstanding that I could not thwart. However, cometh the muse, cometh the inspiration, cometh the poetry, cometh the poet- and when you are blessed with a such a gift you never fail to feel, love, and know it.

Check out my poetry blog 'Poeta universalis' on Wordpress; follow me on Twitter; Like me on Facebook; watch and listen to me on You Tube and Vimeo:

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My Poem: ‘Blond’

When I was a boy, and all throughout my teenage years,
I was an artist, an athlete, an adventurer,
who knew nothing about the world
other than to never be held back by my fears.
I used to run, cycle, explore, for hours at a time
through my homes countryside open-air-
racing down lanes and over fields,
as the winds of my childhood blew through my curly blond hair.

I remember a summer when my friends and I decided to build a time machine-
I told my friends that it would be easy:
“Doc Brown made one out of a car”,
and I described how easy that had been-
so we outfitted a go-cart with a modified sweet-box, some wires,
a watch, and a calculator- all to my exacting specifications;
and then my friends and I all took turns on our “time machine”,
each time travelling to a myriad of historic and futuristic destinations.

As an adult I have had this recurring thought and daydream for many years
of going back to my “blond hair days”,
sitting down on a bench with my younger self,
and simply talking to myself, and telling myself a story:
a tale of tears and sadness, but also one of energy, inspiration,
love, imagination, and cherished glory.
I would tell myself how one day the world is going to change,
but that everything is going to be alright;
and that magic is real, but it doesn’t always present itself
in colours of black and white.
I would tell myself to remember these times in my life,
because these are the days that I will return to often,
and which strengthen my worlds bonds.
What a time I had, what days they were,
when I was blond!

(Source: poetauniversalis.wordpress.com)