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

there are times in life
when I’m on a downer
I feel isolated
as the chill of emptiness
falls over me  ~  not so unlike
the snow that covers
the limbs of the tree
at the edge
of the wooded drumlin…..  adding
weight to its use as as metaphor
’cause it leans to the right
I know this void   ~
with its load
will melt away
like it has
many times before
although….  reminding me
life ain’t always easy
and the struggle
can make the strongest soul
mentally and physically down
with a yearning for rest
while dwelling in seclusion
until able to emerge again

Image & Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

some days as I stand alone
the weight of the world
upon my shoulders
seems more than I can bear
not that I’m complaining
about the destiny
I have chosen….   I would not
change it for one moment
it just is at times  ~  I grow
tired
my spirit
feels as if its been
snowed in…..
held captive
frozen still
without a twinkle
of hope
from the stars above
then I think of you
what you mean to me
how luminous you are
to the state of my being
where my wintry regression
slowly melts away
and my burden
appears no more

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

I know….. at the height
of the storm
hope
the possibility
it offers
seems bleak
that light of promise
feels distant
and hardly obtainable
our mindset
becomes
emotionally
snowbound
trapped in a blizzard
of discontent
where each and every
snowflake of sorrow
adds to our burden
our spirit
under goes
this accumulative
sensation of
slowly drifting away
to a reality
with a more fridged
disposition
an isolated
tundra of melancholy
apathetic and listless
until the intensity
of the storm breaks
slowly
melting away
our icy blues
from the darkness
of winter’s
persistent throes

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

the snow covered limbs
of the tree in the backyard
as they droop
from the persistent weight  ~
as I notice
the feel
of a long held burden
overcomes me
unlike that tree
next to the block wall
I have the choice
whether to change
the normality of my life
or not
’cause
I have never
felt comfortable
with mere existence
the monotony
that comes
with everyday living
I have always had
this want to do more
give back
more than
I’ve taken

no need for a pat
on the back

and yet
even with such intentions
there are days I feel down
and as I look out
the window
to find
some
commonality
that provides
reassurance
for my
downtrodden mood

I must muster the strength
remind myself
who fuckin’ said
it’s gonna be easy

come on….
get up…….
move………….

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

through the days… nights and years
along the many roads I’ve traveled
the visual landscape  ~  captured
within my mind’s eye
has varied from the simple
to the complex
the common to the unique
never disappointing my imagination
or causing my curiosity to fade
where the voice in my head says  ~
did you just see
how the flowing water
has frozen still on the face
of that rock wall
sculptured by those
who cut
through the hills
while building the turnpike
as we approach that bridge
that still links
the lay of the land
symmetrically together

so cool……

Image & Words by  ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

broken and silent
no longer capable
of fulfilling
its purpose
where sweet notes
twanged
a country
song
while feet
swept gracefully
on a floor in dance

who will fix
the silence
mend
the broken body
bring to life
music again

’cause
I fondly
recall
as a youth
the spirit
of that banjo
in my
grandpa’s
hands
gently
coaxing
my feet
as I watched
my parents
move theirs
across
our
basement
floor

Image & Words by  ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

adjacent to the straight edge
of buildings near by
a curving form  ~  smooth
steal with a shine…. narrowing
as the eye moves along
its expanse
greenish tint
a contribution basking
its underside
from sidewalk umbrellas
circles as a line of markings
along what appears
to be sections  ~  sparking
the imagination… envisioning
vertebrae making up the tail
of a Tyrannosaurus rex

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

you turn
your back on me
ignore me
put me
out of your mind
judge me
as not fit
not worthy
of notice
or acceptance
why  ~

’cause I am different
I am not you
don’t think
or…..
act like you
don’t do as you say
nor hang with you
and your kind
to you
I’m intolerable

as I gaze out
on such
intolerance for me
and others….
as I take my stand
on acceptance
for all
by all  ~
as I work
for change
even when
your intolerance
tests my patience
l pray
I won’t
become as you

~the intolerant~

the bad example
for others
to exemplify

’cause
it seems
it feels at times
like forever
that it’s taking you
to accept me
and others
for who we are…

peace out

Image & Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~
— at The Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

you fucked up
cow….. serving
doped up milk
to even minors
from your
erect
high as a kite
nipples

step up kids…..
to the Korova Milk Bar
I’ll pour you some  ~
vellocet
synthemesc
drencrom

it’ll make reality
appear as if…..
A Clockwork Orange

and you will yell  ~
‘Moloko Vellocet‘
gotta get a subculture

thank you
Anthony Burgess

thank you
Stanley Kubrick

groovy man…..

peace out

Image and Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamilton~
Stanley Kubrick exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

the weathering with age
season after season
gives further definition
to your lines of character
those marks ……
filled with the memory
of your day to day struggle
that bodily testament
of a life truly lived
in spite of the obstacles

as Gary Allan sings  ~
“It ain’t the whiskey.
It ain’t the cigarettes.
It ain’t the stuff I smoke.
It’s all these things I can’t forget.
It ain’t the hard times.
It ain’t the all nights.
It ain’t that easy,
It ain’t the whiskey that’s killin’ me.”

peace out……

Image & Words by   ~Keith Alan Hamillton~