Category: (WIS) Images with Words Series: on the road with ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

at times   ~   I fully feel
the loneliness
a sort of abandonment
deep within my being
penetrating the depths
of my mortality   ~
I stand as naked
pale as a corpse
mentally subdued
as if to be
dead to all else
where no one
knows of   ~
this plight
my downtrodden ways
of suffocating despair
neither at all
am I to find   ~
a single bit of concern
within the reach
of what comprises
the bleak silhouette
shadowing   ~
my somber disposition
~ ~
as I wrestle   ~
struggle within the realm
known to me as darkness
I find   ~
my right
to acceptance
for being the way I am
without the stigma of guilt
upon my back   ~
nor the need for pity
shown from those
who have no capacity
for real understanding
beyond  ~
the quick fix remedy
and the proverbial scold
‘get over it’
echoing
its empty council
proclaiming a time limit
as to the affairs
plaguing my morose
condition
whatever   ~
I’ve dwelt in the pit before
alone   ~
and
I know my way about
its catacombs
filled with an anguish
designed to be debilitating
so to prevent my escape
of which I’ve done
many   ~   many times
to the chagrin of my keeper
and because of such
I have no doubt   ~
once again
I’ll rise up
from this grave
smothering me slowly
with this   ~
heavy melancholy
yes   ~   I will
with all I can muster
I’ll fight my way back
into the comfort of day
letting it saturate
my mind
with those light rays
of hope
lifting my weaken spirit
giving it a renewed vision
to walk once more
as I recall   ~   remember
upon the land   ~   as the living

“For me anyhow, mental lows are the aftereffect upon my entire body drained from a high-functioning mind begging for some rest; it ain’t no illness, but a natural, cyclical response to the ongoing process of mind within my body; I’ve accepted this and feel no guilt for me being me.”

Image & Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

for me   ~   there is no better way
to know and fully experience
the rich bounty of life
intertwined with the non-life
those inanimate aspects
integral to the formation,
the beauty   ~   the raw power
of which at times
bringing about a force
of horrid destruction
causing a loss to the living
and yet   ~   in spite of
comprising,
the very fabric making up
Nature’s splendid being
~    for me then
to get out into
the fray,
the motion of it all
and trudge along
a torrent and rugged river
like the east branch
of the Pemigewassent
barreling through a place
called Lincoln Woods
deep within the White Mountain
National Forest   ~

~    ‘cause while kneeling one day
upon a smoothed out rock
after jumping to its dwelling
amidst the rumbling stream
yes doing so   ~   with a mindset
to somehow sense the feeling
of what such a reality may   ~   be
suddenly   ~   a wave of energy
eerily and yet,
with a familiarity
passes as if some spirit
through the soul
nudging intuitively
the body to turn and look
seemingly   ~   towards
a preordained direction
where the sun’s light
filtered through the clouds
provides the ideal overcast
upon the waters
full of rock and stone
to be   ~   instantly captured
as if perfection
by the imperfect
and simplistic means
of a Smartphone camera
snapping a shot in Nature
creating a moment   ~   which
bestows an everlasting blessing
that gift of spiritual enlightenment

Image & Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

frozen within a wintry blue
casting a mental cloud
known as darkness
~    the drip of the icicle
under the sun
illustrates   ~
the release to be given
with a ray of hope
if you’d take the opportunity
~    earnestly basking
beneath the warmth
of hope’s light   ~   wherein
the spirit becomes uplifted
beginning with    ~
each and every new day

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

hearing the birds on this early   ~   rainy morn
vocalizing lively   ~   as if an obliging melody
filling the dew-damp air   ~   simultaneously
with a variety of tunes according to kind
as my stiff knees and not so limber ankles
and feet   ~   slowly and ever so persistently
become infused with an energetic rhythm
pulsating throughout my hefty-laden legs
a nudge   ~   prodding me to walk and then do
what I describe as a naturally evolving
self-adapting style   ~   this unspectacular
shuffle-jog   ~   a shadow of the full all-out
run of early years   ~   and yet   ~   this morn
now within this sort of melodic prance
~    I more willingly move upon a familiar
although   ~   unforgiving and duty bound
blacktop   ~   of which   ~   through its rough
and slanted surface this harden   ~   stern road
unwittingly does intensify those aching pains
aged into my body   ~   however   ~   within this
humbling process of not as once was mobility
~    my mind drifts back to those vocalizing birds
scurrying about here and there   ~   just doing
what they need to do   ~   in spite of whatever
as if illustrating by such an eager activity
teeming with the business of the morn
somehow this subtle message is embedded
purposely and obediently by the nature gods
who are assigned the noble task to spirit on
all routine matters   ~   recurrent patterns
revealing   ~   without pause a struggle for life
~    I’ve had to experience to more fully know
and thusly appreciate the following   ~
upon awakening from the depths of sleep
if I’m so blessed to hear again   ~   a liveliness
for life   ~   pulsating throughout the air   ~
land and sea with an energetic rhythm
I too   ~   heaven forbid   ~   shall not linger
for long   ~   dilly-dallying in hesitation or remorse
‘cause   ~   I must get up to get going   ~   willfully
and daily joining the ranks of the all-out commotion
the obliging melody possessing its meaningful
reason   ~   so I’ll keep moving   ~   running
or more in tune with reality   ~   me by way of my
unspectacular shuffle-jog will try to stay alive

Image & Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

if we the people continue to believe
sustain the hope
and work
proactively towards the future
we together….
…..   united within the struggle
will assure for our children’s
children’s   ~   children
that tomorrow…   will come

~   positive pragmatism is ok
in conjunction with faith
just like the yellow flower
upon its evolutionary path
is creatively possible
and worth the beauty of its being   ~

~   some watch sports
and others like me prefer to write
neither is necessarily right or wrong
but when and how much
seems crucial to determine   ~

peace out world
do as Nelson Mandela did
work as one and flourish

Image & Words   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

Don’t sit on the sidelines of life.
Be Proactive!
Spread the Word…..
Read the first book in the series Nature ~ IQ: Let’s Survive, Not Die! Here.

some milkweed pods   ~   hanging
around in late summer
not yet flowered….   holding back
the fulfillment of their destiny
not being cooperative
with the butterfly
the monarch flies elsewhere   ~
~   therein
no onlooker has the opportunity
to share the beauty
within the bond
formed
between
these two creatures
of nature
the milkweed and the butterfly …..
……   so be it for now   ~   anyhow

peace out   ~

Image & Words   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

I know …   just another
sunrise
image
captured by that wannabe
photographer guy
on his morning run
with his Smartphone camera
later to be brought
more to light
as revealed
through his poetic words   ~
~    but it ain’t what I saw
as much as
what I felt
that intuitively ignited
my attention
away
from the melodic beat
of my feet …..   flopping about
on the hard and unreceptive
paved street ……
…..   I suddenly felt part of
my surroundings
as sun filtered through sky
lighting edges
and creating shadows
beautifully
on the black bottom clouds
along with those
shale looking
hues of color   ~   yet
it was the human touch
in the form of a jet stream
as if stroked defiantly
by the artist’s brush
on this heavenly canvas
spiritually emerging
this mental imprint
of enlightenment
not just in my head
my entire being
the self-actualization of
our human individuality
still intrinsically
interconnected
to the workings
of all else in Nature
and that
is what makes capturing
this image of a morning sunrise
with my Smartphone camera
so   ~   so different
than all the rest
at least
in this instance
for me
anyhow …..

peace out   ~

Image and Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

a person ..  this individual

I never wanted
to be ordinary
but unique
not from fame or fortune
rather
distinguished
by deeds of service
for humanity
I would give
far more
than
I would take
I’d live and create  ~  doing
it all
in a proactive way
that’s beneficial
to the human well-being

a person ..  this individual

I’ll spiritually
leave this mark
with significance
on the anatomy
of physical
materialization
imprinted
in the minds
of those touched
by the energy
that flowed
within the spirit
of my presence  …..
…..   people
refreshed
like that experience
in the morning
when coming upon
the radiance
of a rain
drenched flower
and that moment
is felt forever

a person ..  this individual

Image & Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

I was born free   ~
the same year ….
as the ’57 Chevy
how cool
as my generation
would say
my last name
Hamilton
a great American surname
like a founding father
who may have been shot
because of being
a bit prideful
but was able to grasp
the full ideal of freedom
as a young man
never to be a believer
in slavery
nor owned
another
human being
my Scot Irish grandfather
and father
taught me
the meaning
of
don’t
tread
on me
as they knew it
my dad served
in the Korean war
and like his father
my brother was in the Navy
I graduated from high school
during the time
after Vietnam
where there was no draft
I didn’t even have to register
even though
I grew up a middle of the ‘70’s
child …..  carefree
and hopeful
all the ills of the world
would be solved
by the time I was old   ~
~   only
‘cause
I was raised
in the land of the free
was I lucky enough
to be so gullible
and for that
kind of freedom
I am truly appreciative
of all those
who have lost
their lives ……   defending
my right to be free

in remembrance of them
and what they’ve done
men and women
I fly Old Glory
on Memorial Day
as is the tradition
of my country
to honor true heroes
and the sacrifice they made
for the sake of those
like me  ~  born free

Image & Words  by  ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

pure …   innocent and simple
like what the daisy symbolizes
I am not ….   but I am
in the purest sense
simply complex   ~   although
I am far from innocent
my life ….  the living of it
has become
extremely complicated
over   ~   time
if you think you can fix it
me and my life
you’ll find such a task
not easy and more than likely
doomed to fail   ~   your mission
will suffer a crash landing
only to reveal
the pieces are to many
to put back together
however   ~   like the daisy
you can appreciate my being
for what it is …   shaped
through struggle ….  sort of like
a precious gem or a fine wine
aged to perfection
well at least as is …
humanly possible
then you’ll find me
worthy of your love
and attention

well  ~   your choice

Image & Words  ~Keith Alan Hamilton~